What we do

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We are a permanent body created by the Constitution to manage free and fair elections at all levels of government. Although publicly funded and accountable to parliament, we are independent of the government.

Obligations

In terms of Section 190 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (PDF - 1.65 MB), we must:

manage elections of national, provincial and municipal legislative bodies;
ensure that those elections are free and fair;
declare the results of those elections; and
compile and maintain a voters' roll.

Duties

Section 5 of the Electoral Commission Act, 1996 (PDF - 183 KB) requires that we:

compile and maintain a register of parties;
undertake and promote research into electoral matters;
develop and promote the development of electoral expertise and technology in all spheres of government;
continuously review electoral laws and proposed electoral laws, and make recommendations;
promote voter education;
declare the results of elections for national, provincial and municipal legislative bodies within seven days; and
appoint appropriate public administrations in any sphere of government to conduct elections when necessary.

Download Acts and regulations related to elections, the IEC and parties.

Laws and Regulations

Registration

Voting

Voter information centre

Contesting elections

Party and candidate information centre

Overview

Municipal by-elections

Municipal local government elections

National and provincial elections

Key processes and roleplayers

Election results and statistics

General

Who we are

Document library and publications

Key links

What we do

Obligations

Duties

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