Protest action broke out at Cambridge Township in East London on Wednesday when a handful of residents from Ward 16 blocked roads and burnt tyres leading to the voting station.
The residents cited alleged corruption in the African National Congress (ANC) councillor candidate Rogers Relu’s selection on to the ballot sheet. The residents say that Relu came second in the party’s branch general meeting, and Mbulelo Vula should represent them after he finished top of the proposed candidates list.
Protest organiser Xoliswa Ntuse said they marched to the ANC’s Dr WB Rubusana regional office in East London last week to demand Relu’s name to be withdrawn from the ballot sheet.
“We want Mbulelo Vula to replace Relu’s name because Vula finished ahead of Relu. Today we don’t want people to vote because these people are corrupt,” said Ntuse.
Ntuse further added that Vula understood the community’s grievances far better than Relu.
“Mbulelo Vula lives with us here in [the] Cambridge Township and Relu does not,” he said.
Local police monitored the protests to make sure that the voting process was not disrupted.
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