Voter registration was halted in Paarl over the weekend after a service delivery protest broke out in Mbekweni, outside of the dorp.
A group of demonstrators ransacked several registration points, forcing them to shut down on Saturday.
Alert
Electoral Commission (IEC) officials met with local councillors to restore calm in the community, and police were put on high alert in the area yesterday, when the stations reopened.
Co-operative Governance Minister David van Rooyen has condemned the violence reported at some stations.
“Too many people have paid the ultimate price so that all South Africans have the right to vote,” he said.
“By denying people the right to register, you are effectively denying them that right enshrined in our Constitution - that is the right to vote.
“I urge all leaders to bring an end to the violence,” said Van Rooyen.
Yesterday, 22 608 voting stations across the country had opened and were running smoothly.
Closed
Six stations - all in the Vhembe area in Limpopo - were closed.
From today, registration will only take place at IEC offices during office hours until the proclamation of the municipal elections, taking place on August 3, the IEC said.
It’s believed some 1.5 million mense visited voting stations over the weekend to register, re-register at new voting stations, or re-register and provide updated address details at their existing voting station.
Isolated instances of protest action had also been reported in Ntabankulu and Umtata in the Eastern Cape, and at four voting stations in Kwazulu-Natal in Ladysmith, Umfolozi, and Escourt.