Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 29, 1994 TAG: 9404290123
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA LENGTH: Medium
Air force planes rushed hastily printed ballots to trouble spots in the hinterlands, and helicopters equipped with loudspeakers circled rural areas announcing where to vote.
But time ran out in some remote areas that were bedeviled by shortages of ballots, indelible ink and stickers. The Independent Electoral Commission authorized some rural regions to continue voting today.
Election officials said the counting would start at 6 a.m. Saturday, and they plan to issue hourly results as it progresses.
The crush of people seen at polling stations on Wednesday was not as evident Thursday, as people turned out to elect the country's first government representing blacks, who make up three-fourths of the population.
For one thing, it appeared that the vast majority of first-time black voters in their enthusiasm had stormed the polls Wednesday, the first day of general voting.
All signs pointed to an enormous turnout among the country's 23 million voters, but there were no immediate figures from election officials. The odds-on favorite to be president was African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela.
"Happy, happy. I nearly jumped out of my skin and stood next to my body," said Eddy Mile, a vegetable vendor who was one of the last voters in Soweto, outside Johannesburg.
Despite dire predictions in the months leading up to the election, and a spate of bombings early in the week blamed on white extremists, most of the three days of balloting took place in an atmosphere of calm.
"It looks like a miracle," said Dirk Bakker, 33, a white election worker, as he shut down a polling station in Durban.
Police moved to avert any further trouble from far-right whites by declaring unrest areas in 15 towns that are strongholds of pro-apartheid whites. That gives police expanded powers to detain people and break up public gatherings.
In many areas, the mood was jubilant.
It amounted to "a magnificent tribute to our national peace structures and the South African electorate," said relieved peace monitor Rupert Lorimer.
Although poll superintendents were permitted to keep the voting stations open until midnight, the majority were closing at 7 p.m., as originally planned, for lack of business.
by CNB