The Western Cape Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says it is ready for this year’s upcoming general elections.
Even though the country is not ready for electronic voting, provincial electoral officer Michael Hendrickse says it’s all systems go for the upcoming elections.
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‘When we look at international studies by organisations, we find that a majority of democracies do not go with online voting because there is the threat of hacking into the system, and there is a possibility that someone can track how you vote. A lot of studies are needed to make sure that the vote is secure.’
He clarified that electronic voting involves using an offline electronic voting device, while internet voting refers to casting votes online.
At a stakeholder engagement meeting on Wednesday, February 28, Hendrickse shared that a notable change in this year’s elections is the use of three ballot papers.
‘For the first time in the country’s history, there will be three ballot papers at voting stations,’ he said. ‘In previous elections, there were only two ballots, a National PR Ballot for the National Assembly (Parliament), and a Provincial Ballot for the Provincial Legislature of the province.’
‘Now we have a third ballot. This is for the regional seats for the province in the National Assembly.’
He clarified that the terms ‘regional’ and ‘provincial’ are used to differentiate between seats allocated to a specific region in Parliament (regional seats) and seats in the Provincial Legislatures of that province (provincial seats), with a region encompassing the same territorial area as a province.
People’s Post reports that he also issued a warning to those who provide false information when applying for special votes, which require home visits. These only apply to individuals with ill health, physical disability or pregnancy.
‘We have found in the past that people abuse that by applying for special vote and we get to the house and the person is not there. If you apply on behalf of someone, you have to indicate your name and details.’
‘And we are warning people that if you do provide false information in terms of your condition, you may be prosecuted.’
Applications for special votes can be registered between Monday, 15 April and Thursday, 3 May. Applications will be confirmed via SMS.
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Hendrickse added that voters will not be allowed to vote in an area where they are not registered.
‘You need to inform the IEC that you want to vote at a different voting station. There is a Notification Form available at the local IEC Office or on the IEC Website. If the voting station is outside your province, you will only receive one ballot paper (national PR).’
Furthermore, the IEC has put measures in place to ensure that voting stations are safe. Voter-management devices used at stations are battery-operated and can last up to 72 hours, which means that voting will not be impacted by loadshedding.
‘We are procuring portable lights to ensure that lighting is available at voting stations if there’s load shedding. The commission is engaging with Eskom to ensure that we have an uninterrupted power supply.’
Other measures to assist visually impaired voters are also in place. ‘There is no braille ballot paper. We have a device that assists people who are visually impaired who want to vote,’ says Hendrickse.
‘It’s a template and the ballot paper slips into the template with squares open so that the voters can feel their way on the right-hand side and then mark according to the party or independent candidate want to vote for.’
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Picture: Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) / Facebook