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government has a
more important role than it did in the past. Many functions are being
decentralised to local government, giving municipalities a more integrated
package of service and functions to manage.
In the 2000/1 municipal elections South Africans voted for the first truly
post-apartheid municipal councils based on united neighborhoods. That marked
the end of a long process of transition and restructuring arriving at the final
model for local government.
The most important ingredient of any electoral system is the voter. Every
citizen has the responsibility to vote and to ensure that his or her
councillors and their political parties act in the best interests of all South
Africans.
The journey has been long and has involved negotiations and debates which
have often been difficult. Elections rely on the involvement of all citizens
over the age of 18, so go out and fulfill your civic duty, vote for the local
council of YOUR choice. Your vote is very important.
MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 2006: VOTING DAY
On Wednesday 1st March 2006 South
Africa goes to the polls again – this time
to elect councillors for the 283 newly demarcated municipalities country-wide.
Like the 2004 national and provincial elections, these elections will be run
on the basis of a Voters’ Roll. This means that if you are a South African
citizen at least 18 years old and yours is one of the 21 104 190 names on the
Voters’ Roll, you may vote in these elections. The Voters’ Roll closed on 06 January 2006, the day the
Minister of Provincial and Local Government proclaimed the elections, so if you
are not already registered you won’t be able to vote.
The country has been divided into 18 873 voting districts. You will have to
vote in the voting district where you are registered. If you click on „Am I
registered?“ on this website, you can establish not only whether you are
registered, but where, and also where your voting station will be. You can also
do this by phoning the tollfree number 0800 11 8000 or by checking with your
Municipal Electoral Officer (MEO), whose name and address you can find out by
clicking on „Contact us“. If you have moved far away since registering, or if
for any other reason you can’t get to your voting station on Voting Day, you
will not be able to vote, since there will be no special votes, postal votes,
prior votes, declaration votes or anything else of the kind.
Some rural areas will be provided with mobile voting stations. This means
that there will not be a single fixed voting station that stays open the whole
day. The IEC will advertise in advance the times when and the places where your
mobile voting station will stop for voting.
If you have voted before, you will remember the procedure.
Take your green barcoded ID book with you to the voting station. (If you
have lost your ID book, you may use a Temporary Identity Certificate [TIC]
issued by the Department of Home Affairs – apply for it as soon as possible).
- Your ID book/TIC will be
checked and your name marked off on the voters’ roll.
- Your thumbnail will be marked
with visible indelible ink.
- You will be issued with
either two or three ballot papers of various colours – the number of
ballot papers will depend on what type of municipality you live in.
- You will mark these ballot
papers in secret.
- You will put the marked and
folded ballot papers in the ballot box.
Physically disabled voters who need help with voting may be assisted by a
person of their choice. The Presiding Officer (the IEC official in charge of the
voting station) will assist voters who cannot read.
Voting stations will open at 07:00
in the morning and close at 19:00
in the evening. As long as you are inside the boundary of the voting station by
19:00, you will be allowed
to vote.
Once you’ve voted, your part in the elections is over.
The IEC’s job will continue until all the ballot papers have been counted, and
all the results have been tallied, checked and announced. To say nothing of all
the packing away and tidying up!
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