The  Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said it’s cautiously optimistic that elections will unfold without a hitch, but it has contingency plans in place if incidents occur.
With just hours before South Africans take to the polls to cast their votes, more than 18 000 IEC officials have been deployed across the province to assist its 3.1 million registered voters.
Specialised strike teams and police units are in place, in hotspots where gang activity and protest action are likely to occur.
IEC provincial head Courtney Sampson emphasised the importance of keeping staff and voters safe.
“With more than 1,579 voting stations operational across the Western Cape during the election on Wednesday, our main priority is to ensure the safety of our volunteers and potential voters,” he said.
Sampson said they’ve had regular meetings with police management.
“We have picked up areas where there might be challenges, at this stage the areas we have identified ranges from townships, informal settlements and under resourced communities,” he said.
Sampson  said over 65,000 voters in the province will cast their special votes on Monday and Tuesday.
“More than 65,000 eligible voters in the Cape, who are unable to make their mark on Wednesday, such as physically disabled people or election staff and police officers, can do so on Monday and Tuesday,” he said.
Sampson urged those who have applied for a special vote, need to make sure they are available when officials visit their areas.
“This is our instruction to our office: if you get to someone’s home and they’re not there, shake the dust off your feet and move on. They can go and vote on Wednesday. I think that’s fair as a special vote application means you are unable to physically get to voting stations which means that you are supposed to be at home when officials get there.”
A total of 40,000 home visits are planned for Monday and Tuesday as well as 25,000 anticipated at special voting stations.
The Department of Home Affairs has since extended its working this is to enable citizens to collect their identity documents (IDs) to vote. Offices will be open from 07:00 to 17:00 today and tomorrow and will operate from 07:00 – 21:00 on Wednesday.