In preparation for the 2021 Municipal Elections, Cabinet has approved the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Municipal Elections.
The IMC will be bolstered by a technical forum comprised of Directors General.
“The 2021 Municipal Elections will be the fifth such elections since the advent of democracy. The IMC will work with the IEC and other relevant bodies towards ensuring that the process leading to the local government elections unfolds with ease,” said the newly appointed Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, during a post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday.
Members of the IMC will comprise of the Ministers of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as Chairperson; Home Affairs; Justice and Correctional Services; Finance; State Security and the Minister in the Presidency.
The technical support team will be the Directors General from the same departments.
The IMC will have their work cut out for them after alleged incidents of double voting in the 2019 National and Provincial Elections.
Among the issues raised was the possibility of double voting because the indelible ink used as one of the security measures during voting was easily removable from some voters' thumbs.
In a final report on the investigations into alleged double voting, Statistician General Risenga Maluleke revealed that the risks of double voting during the elections were “negligible”.
The findings were contained in the final report that was based on a sample of voting stations.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said the report was intended to act as an addition to the set of internal validations already applied by the Commission in determining the freeness and fairness of the election. – SAnews.gov.za
