The road to the 2024 National and Provincial Elections (NPE 2024)
is rapidly approaching the final and most critical stages of the Elections
Timetable. We are now two days to out-of-country voting; 12 days
before special votes are cast in the Republic; and 14 days to the general
elections on 29 May.
This Friday, 17 May 2024 will mark yet another milestone in the
Elections Timetable – the first day of voting in the NPE 2024. South African citizens living in other countries will cast
the first ballots on 17 May 2024. Nine countries will cast ballot on Friday
whilst the rest of the 102 will cast ballots on Saturday, 18 May 2024. Given
high numbers of expected voters in London at 24 194, this station will operate
on both the 18 and 19 May 2024.
The international segment of the voters roll for out-of-country
voters, has 56 698 voters, but the total
expected to vote is 76 580. This comes after the approval of 20 886 VEC10 notifications from
voters who informed the Chief Electoral Officer of their intention to vote
outside of the country due to temporary absence.
The Commission declares its readiness to ensure that voting goes
smoothly in 111 foreign missions around the world. All missions have already received
the election materials, which include ballot papers, voting booths, ballot
boxes, envelopes, and a voter list.
Voting stations will be open from 07:00am to 19:00pm, allowing 76
580 voters to exercise their right to vote in South Africa’s 2024 National
Elections. On both voting days abroad, the Electoral Commission will keep
extended hours to assist voters with any enquiries.
SA citizens voting out-of-country in the 2024 National Election
can only vote on ONE day at their mission:
- Missions with a work week from Sunday–Thursday vote on
Friday, 17 May, 7am to 7pm. The following missions are determined to vote
on this Friday details in the previous statement Algiers, Amman, Cairo,
Damascus, Jeddah, Kuwait City, Ramallah, Riyad and Teheran.
- Missions with a work week from Monday–Friday vote on
Saturday, 18 May, 7am to 7pm. Note that two days of special votes have
been determined for the UK based on the number of voters who will vote at
that mission.
SPECIAL VOTES
It is also critical that we outline the process that occurs after
voting has taken place outside the country. This is to allay the fears of those
who are unfamiliar with the procedures for voting in an overseas setting.
- After the voting
process, cast national compensatory ballots in their double envelopes will be
transported through a secure channel back to the national office of the
Electoral Commission for counting.
- To protect the
secrecy of the vote, all such special votes are first placed in an unmarked
envelope, which is then inserted into a second envelope marked with the voting
station and voter’s particulars for verification on the list of approved
special votes.
- The envelope is
then placed in the ballot box.
Special votes within the Republic will take place on the two days
preceding election day 27 and 28 May. The time of operations is 9am to 5pm.
Following the 3 May deadline, the Commission approved a total of 1 668 076
special votes applications, of which 624 593 are for voters who will be
visited at their homes or places of confinement and 1 043 483 will
voters who will vote at voting stations where they are registered.
The provinces with the most approved special votes for both home
visits and voting station visits are Gauteng (335 498), KwaZulu Natal (320
010), Eastern Cape (286 059), Limpopo (159 800),
Western Cape (137 558), North West (132 627), Mpumalanga (126
112), Free State (86 908), and Northern Cape (83 504).
Our staff are prepared and will be at all voting stations, as well
as visiting the homes of those who are unable to visit the voting stations, to
ensure that all those who have been granted special votes have a smooth voting
experience. Party and independent agents will also accompany special
voting staff and accredited observers.
Readiness for the NPE 2024
Ballot Papers
In these elections, voters will receive three ballot papers:
the national compensatory ballot for political parties, provincial and regional
ballots for parties and independent candidates. We wish to remind voters to
make only one mark against the party or candidate of their choice. In other
words, “One ballot, One Mark”.
Voting Stations
Lease agreements for 23 303 permanent voting stations have
been signed and concluded. Of these, 62% are schools, 9.7% are places of
worship, and the balance of 28% include all other categories such as community
halls and other municipal facilities.
Training of Voting Station Officials
We are in the final stages of training 202 500 voting officials
who will discharge the responsibility of administering the electoral process in
the voting stations. To this end, a total of 191 185 voting
officials have been appointed. The addition of a new
category of staff to assist the presiding officer with the counting effort is
another significant step towards improving the quality of counting. Three such
staff are being appointed for each voting station and for each sub-station
where a voting centre is being operated.
Results Operation Centre (ROC)
As part of our final preparations, the Commission will launch the
National Results Centre (ROC) on Wednesday, 22 May 2024. The National ROC will
be based at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg. It will
house Commission members, as well as representatives of key service providers
such as Eskom and parliament, as well as representatives of contestants of the
elections, domestic and international observer missions, and media
organisations.
Domestic and International Observers
The Commission is pleased to share that a record 160 organisations
with 5 000 observers domestically and from around the world will be observing
South Africa’s 2024 general elections. About 15 of these observer organisations
are international and include the African Union, The Carter Centre Democracy
Program, and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance.
The Electoral Commission opened applications for observer
accreditation on 22 August 2023, and they closed on 1 May 2024. Domestic
observers’ groups were briefed by the Electoral Commission ahead of the
historic elections which will see independent candidates contesting national
and provincial elections for the first time in South Africa’s democratic
history. International observers will be briefed on 26 May 2024.
Measures in place for persons with
disabilities
We have implemented measures to make the voting process more
accessible to all South Africans, regardless of physical abilities. Voting
officials will assist voters who require assistance on voting day.
Working with the South African National Council for the Blind
(SANCB), we have developed a voting aid, the Universal Ballot Template (UBT),
to enable all citizens to confidently and confidential exercise their vote.
The UBT can be used by:
- Blind and partially-sighted people;
- Low-vision users;
- People with an unsteady hand;
- The elderly;
- People with low literacy; and
- People with motor and nervous conditions which do not
allow for a steady hand.
Vote where you are Registered (Section 24A)
Voters are to vote where they are registered. It is therefore
appropriate that, ahead of the elections, we remind voters of the general rule
in elections. That is, a person votes at a voting station where they have
registered. The only exception to the general rule is that a voter may vote
outside of their registered voting district only after notifying the
Commission. Notifications in this regard will close this Friday on 17 May
2024. As of today, approximately 199 092 notifications had been approved.
We call on registered voters to check their voting station ahead
of election day. A number of channels are available to assist voters with
checking their registration:
- by SMS ID number
to 32810
- using voting
station finder application on website
- Contact centre
on 0800 11 8000
- The IEC APP
downloadable from the App Store or Google Play.
We call on South Africans both abroad and here at home come out in
numbers and excise their democratic rights. We further continue our call to
citizens, media members, and political party leaders to set a good example and
foster an electoral environment based on trust, integrity, and respect for all.
The Electoral Commission, for its part, commits to declaring an election
outcome based on South African voters' choices.
We remind South Africans that the counting of votes takes place at
each voting station in the presence of political party agents and independent
candidate agents and observers. The results slip will be counter-signed by
party agents, and the results slip at the conclusion of the count will be
displayed at that voting station. All interested parties are allowed to capture
a photo of that official result of that voting station, with their gadgets.
It’s your democracy, own it!
ISSUED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Ensuring free, fair and credible elections
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