Pretoria – With just 13 days to go until Election Day, the 3rd of August, the KwaZulu-Natal Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) are in the final stretch of preparations.
“We confirm that we have fulfilled all the timetable outlined activities on scheduled published dates. Outstanding is the administration of special votes and the Election Day.
“We are firmly focussed in our final administrative preparation which is the printing of ballots; the logistics of the election; the infrastructure of voting stations; voter education focussed on balloting; and the training of party agents,” said Provincial Electoral Officer Mawethu Mosery.
The Electoral Commission in KwaZulu-Natal met with the members of the media, on Wednesday, at Westville, to provide an update on the provinces preparedness for the 2016 Local Government Elections.
Special Votes
The election will commence with the administration of Special Votes on the 1st and 2nd of August for those who applied on time and were approved for voting station visits and home visits.
The Commission received 82 416 applications for Special Votes, of these, 50 342 were approved for Home Visits, 29 856 were approved for Voting Station Visits and 2 218 were declined.
Training
“We have completed training on the management of voting stations, counting and results for over 54 000 electoral staff who will work at our voting stations plus 930 area managers,” said Mosery.
He said distribution of electoral material will be concluded on 28 July August 2016.
“Our Outreach staff in local offices is currently busy with balloting education in communities to educate potential voters on the balloting process and the number of ballot papers that they should expect when arriving at voting stations.
Ballot papers
“There will be three ballots; one for ward candidate (White & Grey); one for the local municipality PR (Yellow background); and one for the District municipality PR (Green background).
“We encourage voters to ensure they vote in all three and that each one is stamped at the back. We remind all voters that it is illegal to take a photo of your marked ballot.
The nerve centre
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Office will be operating a Results Operations Centre at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Results Operations Centre from the 29th of July until the results announcement on Saturday the 6th of August.
This will be a nerve centre where all the results from voting stations throughout province will be verified and captured.
Election Day
The voting hours on 3 August 2016 will be 7am to 7pm. The Election Day has been declared a public holiday.
“We urge all voters to vote early. We also urge all employers whose operations are functional on public holidays to make the necessary arrangements for their employees to go and vote.
“We further remind all voters, party agents and observers that weapons are not allowed at voting station. We urge those who are licensed for firearms to take note of this and make the necessary arrangements not to bring their firearms to the voting station.
“We remind voters that they can only use their Green bar coded ID Book or Smart card ID or the Temporary Identity Certificate (TIC) to vote,” Mosery said.
The Commission has also approved a number of applications from local and international observers. They will also communicate with citizens of this country and province in due course.
Complaints
Through the IEC’s Conflict Management Desk, they have received about ten complaints from different political parties within the province.
The complaints were mainly related removal of campaign posters, intimidation and disruption of campaign activities.
These cases were attended to and resolved through a mediation process between the political parties. Only three alleged cases of assault remain the responsibility of the SAPS for further investigation through to the judiciary process.
“We have received reports from the SAPS, Joints Operations Committee and political parties relating to incidents that are presumed to be politically motivated,” said Mosery.
These include killing of Ward Candidates in AbaQulusi, Newcastle, Harding and Ladysmith. They are being investigated by the SAPS as murder cases.
“We regret the loss of life during the election process and we are indeed concerned with the recent incidents. We will work continuously with law enforcement on this aspect of developments,” Mosery said.
Political protests
Reports of political protests in areas such as Umsinga, KwaDukuza, Umsunduzi, Vryheid, Bergville, Estcourt, Ugu District and Durban have also been received.
They are mostly related to members of political parties disgruntled with party lists and the reaction to the disqualification of candidates and political parties.
The matters have received the attention of the Multi-Party Political Intervention Committee (MPPIC) chaired by MEC of Community Safety in the province.
The committee meets weekly and deals with cases of political intolerance and seeks immediate interventions and resolutions. Mosery said the success of the committee thus far is commendable. – SAnews.gov.za
