“As at 10h00, preliminary indications were that 3.5 million voters had already cast their ballots across the country,” the Electoral Commission (IEC) said in a statement this afternoon on today’s local government elections.

Its provincial breakdown of the “certified number of voters on the Voter’s Roll who had cast their ballots by 10am” gives a total of 3 523 691 out of 29 230 808 registered voters.

By 10:00, Gauteng had recorded 895 384 of its 6 674 073 registered voters, KwaZulu-Natal 623 380 of 6 051 917, the Western Cape 461 264 of 3 457 253, the Eastern Cape 431 123 of 3 624 866, Limpopo 366 378 of 3 630 080, Mpumalanga 252 859 of 1 643 960, North West 204 736 of 1 663 544, the Free State 195 537 of 1 487 687 and the Northern Cape 93 030 of 997 428.

The IEC said 98% of the 23 696 voting stations had opened by 07:00. A few voting stations opened by 09:00 “due to localised protests, and access challenges”, it said, naming the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. All ballot papers had since been delivered, “with only a few deliveries completed shortly after voting commenced”, and the voter management devices were “functioning optimally”, the IEC said.

The IEC said it had received a report of the “theft of unused Ballot Papers and a stamp in eThekwini”. Its provincial office had reported the incident to the South African Police Service, a case had been opened and investigations were under way, it said. “The Commission has taken all precautionary measures to ensure that the stolen ballots cannot be unlawfully used,” the IEC said.