#ElectionDay voters gather before sunrise in Durban

By 6am on Wednesday morning, a handful of voters had already gathered outside a voting station in Durban's Morningside.

Durban - By 6am this morning, before the sun had even come up, a handful of voters had already gathered outside a voting station at Livingstone Primary School in Durban's Morningside.

It might be a public holiday for most but Sandra Farrell, 45, still has to work and did not want to have to stand in a voting line on Wednesday night after a long day at the office.

“You can't make a difference or have an opinion if you don't vote,” she said, when asked why she was voting.

And Semprey Dunstan, 23, agreed.

This is her second time voting.

“I feel like you don't have a right to complain, or take a stance, if you don't vote,” she said.

The mood was upbeat outside the school and the small crowd chatted amongst themselves while they waited for the station to open.

At the Durban City Hall however, the mood was less jovial after voting got off to a late start.

Police at 7.20am came out and told the queue it would be “just 10 more minutes” but by 7.30am, the doors were still closed.

It is understood IEC officials started setting up late, causing the delay.

Zarina Khan, 57, said it was cold and she had work to do.

Pensioners Rabia and Abdoola Hassim, 70 and 78, said they had come early in the hope they could get away early.

The stations at George Campbell Technical School and Kings Park Athletics Club were both, just after 8am, relatively quiet with very short queues.

Elections Bureau