IEC to give update on putting addresses on voters' roll

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

The Electoral Commission will this morning give an update on steps it has taken to get the addresses of registered voters onto the voters’ roll.

The progress report will include new developments and a demonstration of the Electoral Commission’s online address capturing process.

In June 2016, the Constitutional Court handed down an order directing the Electoral Commission to have a record of addresses for all registered voters before the next General Elections in 2019.

The deadline of 30 June 2018, as set down by the court order, has seen the IEC roll out its online registration campaign to fast track the recording of over 26 million voters.

South African voters have been urged to update their registration details when they have changed addresses or when there has been a change in their identity number.

Case background

In June 2016, the Constitutional Court handed down judgment on whether the IEC is required to have a national common voters’ roll that has the addresses of registered voters for the purposes of the August 2016 local government elections, and if so, from when are they to be recorded.

Independent candidates that had lost by-elections held in the Tlokwe Local Municipality in 2013 challenged the freeness and fairness of those elections on the basis that voters’ addresses were not recorded and many people were registered in the wrong voting districts.

On 30 November 2015, the Constitutional Court found that electoral irregularities had been committed in Tlokwe and set aside the outcome of the by-elections. It effectively ordered the IEC to compile a voters’ roll that had available voters’ addresses for the purposes of future elections and by-elections.

The Tlokwe by-elections were rescheduled for 24 February 2016. When the independent candidates examined the voters’ roll, they discovered that some voters’ addresses were still not recorded. On this ground, they successfully challenged the validity of the voters’ roll and sought the postponement of the impending by-elections in the Electoral Court. That court insisted on the recording of voters’ addresses, where available, and postponed the by-elections for six weeks.

Aggrieved by the outcome, the IEC approached the Constitutional Court. It sought to have the Electoral Court’s decision set aside on the basis that the IEC was not obliged to record voters’ addresses and that the elections must be proceeded with on the voters’ roll as it currently stands without addresses.

In the alternative, and in the event that the appeal failed, the IEC sought direct access to the Constitutional Court, asking that it be absolved from the obligation to provide voters’ addresses.

Three judgments were produced by the Constitutional Court: the first written by Madlanga J (with Khampepe J and Mhlantla J concurring); the majority written by Mogoeng CJ (with Moseneke DCJ, Bosielo AJ, Cameron J, Froneman J and Zondo J concurring) and the minority written by Jafta J (with Nkabinde J concurring).

The majority judgment decided that the IEC’s appeal had to fail. However, direct access was granted. It concluded that (i) “where such addresses are available” does not mean those addresses that the IEC chose to record, but rather addresses that are objectively available or ascertainable; (ii) section 16(3) of the Electoral Act imposes an obligation on the IEC to record objectively available voters’ addresses with effect from 17 December 2003; (iii) the failure to compile a voters’ roll with available addresses is inconsistent with section 1(c) of the Constitution and invalid, but the declaration of invalidity is suspended until 30 June 2018; (iv) the Tlokwe segment of the voters’ roll must reflect all the voters’ addresses that are at present objectively ascertainable; (v) considerations of desirability and utility would encourage the IEC to record objectively available addresses that pre-date 17 December 2003; (vi) the August 2016 elections, except in Tlokwe, may be held without the recordal of available addresses; (vii) all available addresses must be recorded in the voters’ roll by 30 June 2018; and (viii) six-monthly progress reports on the recordal of available addresses must be submitted to this Court by the IEC.

The first judgment differed from the majority judgment only in two respects: first, that section 16(3) of the Electoral Act obliges the IEC to record all addresses that are objectively available, even for voters who registered before 17 December 2003; and second, that the IEC’s failure to record the addresses on the voters’ roll, where available, was in breach of section 190 of the Constitution.

The minority judgment agreed that the appeal must be dismissed and that direct access must be granted, but differed on the order proposed in relation to the application for direct access. It held that section 16(3) requires the commission to furnish addresses that are available to it, and that an address would be available if it was obtained at the time of registration. In this context, the minority held that “available” does not mean “exist”, but instead means “in the IEC’s possession”.

Further, the minority judgment expressed reservations on this court’s power to suspend the operation of an Act of Parliament, especially in circumstances where the Constitution does not expressly empower it to do so. It held that this Court should not grant an order that allows the IEC to use a flawed voters’ roll in the by-elections as this would result in unfair elections. – SAnews.gov.za