The record number of parties contesting the 7 May national and provincial elections has led to the Electoral Commission (IEC) and South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB) having to develop a special new cardboard ballot template to allow visually impaired voters to vote unaided in the 2014 elections.
The new cardboard template can accommodate the 7 May national ballot paper featuring the 29 parties and replaces the existing plastic Universal Ballot Template used in previous elections which can only accommodate a ballot paper with up to 18 parties.
The new cardboard template works in exactly the same way as the plastic UBT. It has windows numbered in Braille and with raised letters so that people with different tactile-literacy levels can use the same template. This cardboard UBT will be used for both Provincial and National ballots in the May 7 elections.
The National and Provincial Elections take place on 7 May 2014. For this election, the following number of parties appears on the ballot papers:
National 29
Eastern Cape 18
Free State 16
Gauteng 22
KwaZulu-Natal 18
Limpopo 20
Mpumalanga 16
Northern Cape 16
North-West 16
Western Cape 26
For those voters who wish to familiarise themselves with the order of the political parties on the national and provincial ballots before going to vote, the IEC has made this information available through its Call Centre. Voters need only contact the Call Centre on 0800118000 and select the self-service option to hear the list of parties as they appear on the national and provincial ballot papers. Calls are free if made from an ordinary Telkom landline.
For more information on the 2014 Universal Ballot Template please contact:
Madalein Greyling
South African National Council for the Blind
012 – 452 3811
E-Mail: [email protected]
Mfundo Shabane
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)
Tel: 012 622-5430
E-Mail: [email protected]
ISSUED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE BLIND
Centurion
2 May 2014
For IEC media queries: Please contact Kate Bapela on 082 600 6386
For IEC media interviews: Please email requests to [email protected]
For SANCB queries: Please contact Jace Nair on 012-452 3811 or email: [email protected]