The Electoral Commission confirms that all 116 voting stations in Nquthu Municipality have opened for special votes ahead of the by-election to be held on 24 May 2017.
The applications for special votes were opened on 26 April 2017 and closed on 10 May 2017. Special voting is for those voters that will either not be within their voting district on the by-election day or cannot visit their voting stations due to ill health and physical infirmity.
In total, the Commission approved 1 500 special votes application for station visits and home visits. Staff are currently conducting home visits in order to administer these special votes. Voting stations will close at 17h00 after all special votes have been administered. No incidents have been reported, and the process is progressing smoothly. In a meeting with contesting political parties this morning no report of complaint or improper processes was presented. The political environment is stable and there is free political activity across the municipality which will encourage voter participation.
Voting for all registered voters in Nquthu Municipality will take place on 24 May 2017. Voting stations will open at 07h00 in the morning and close at 19h00 in the evening. The Commission has trained 688 voting station staff members who will work in the 116 voting stations. There are 81 085 registered voters in this municipality. A list of Area Managers and voting station Presiding Officers was shared with the Local Party Liaison Committee to verify any conflict of interest. Objections were received against three of the staff that were on the list and have since all been replaced.
The Nquthu Municipality has 33 seats that are made up of 17 Ward Council seats and 16 Proportional Representation (PR) seats. All the 33 seats are currently vacant. There will be two ballot papers for the by-election in Nquthu, one for a Ward Councilor and one for PR Council seats.
There are a total of 359 candidates, 238 ward candidates and 121 PR candidates, representing 14 political parties contesting the Nquthu by-elections. Voter turnout in Nquthu in the 2016 Municipal Elections was 58.27%. As the Commission we hope that political parties will campaign vigorously for these by-elections. We also encourage the adherence to the Electoral Code of Conduct and we will be monitoring all political activities today and tomorrow until the announcement of results on the morning of Thursday 25 May 2017.
In conclusion, the Commission would like to encourage registered voters with Nquthu Municipality to come out in their numbers to vote tomorrow so that whichever party wins the elections, wins with a clear majority and the municipality can start functioning to deliver services to its citizens.
Please note:
A press briefing will be held at the Nquthu Council Chamber on Election Day, 24 May 2017 at 11h00 in the morning.
A final briefing to announce election results and seat allocation will be held on 25 May 2017 at 10h00 in the morning.
SMS your ID number to 32810, to check your registration status.
You can find us on:
You Tube: www.youtube.com/user/IECSouthAfrica
Visit our Website: www.elections.org.za
Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/IECSouthAfrica
Follow us on Twitter: @IECSouthAfrica
Issued by the Office of the Provincial Electoral Officer, KwaZulu-Natal, 23 May 2017. For media queries please contact Communications Officer Mr Thabani Ngwira on [email protected] or tel: 031 279 2200 or cell: 084 505 5117.