Pretoria - Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Des van Rooyen, who is also Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Elections, is expected to visit Tlokwe to support the work of the Independent Electoral Commission.
The Minister’s visit on Saturday is aimed at urging community members, especially registered voters in the Tlokwe area, to come out in their numbers to provide missing address details or to correct their address details on the voters’ roll so they are able to vote in the coming Local Government Elections.
“We therefore appeal to all stakeholders including media, community structures, political parties, candidates and others in Tlokwe and surrounding areas to assist in spreading the messages and encouraging the registered voters to visit their voting station this coming weekend,” said Minister van Rooyen.
The IEC will open voting stations in the area on 9 and 10 July 2016.
The call for communities to verify their addresses in Tlokwe is in line with the judgment of Constitutional Court which, among other things, ruled that the 2016 Municipal Elections may proceed on 3 August 2016 using the current certified voters’ roll – with the exception of Tlokwe.
The court ordered the IEC to ensure it obtains the addresses of all the registered voters in line with November 2015 Kham judgment and the subsequent ruling by the Electoral Court is implemented.
The call to provide addresses does not mean that the voter’s roll will be reopened.
This is instead a call to only those voters who have already registered to vote before the voters roll was closed.
“As government we will continue to support the implementation of the Constitutional Court decision to ensure that we ultimately have a complete voters roll with addresses,” said Minister van Rooyen.
He reminded all South Africans that they have the duty to ensure that the coming elections are free and fair and that all the registered voter have an opportunity to cast their ballots on elections day.
“It is our duty as communities and all stakeholders to ensure that we a comprehensive and inclusive voters roll containing addresses of voters.” – SAnews.gov.za
