Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma today praised the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for helping South Africa to be at the forefront of electoral transparency in the world.
Addressing members of various political parties and media in the Old Assembly in Parliament today at the launch of the IEC's 2009 National and Provincial Elections Atlas of Results, Zuma said the IEC was one of the world's most pioneering and innovative electoral organisations.
The atlas, which is the third of its kind following those printed after the 1999 and 2004 provincial and national elections, was handed over to Zuma by the chairperson of the IEC, Brigalia Bam, in the Old Assembly in Parliament today.
The maps in the atlas present election data in a geographic layout. It focuses on aspects such as voter turnout, voter registration, participation of women, change in voting patterns for the various political parties in the different provinces,
"The IEC has done so well in its work each year, that some regional organisations in the world no longer see a need to send election observers to this country when we hold elections because they know that these will proceed well," said Zuma.
He said the IEC had been lauded by the African Union, Commonwealth and UN for the support it had provided to a number of African countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and Nigeria, to help set up more transparent elections.
Said Zuma: "There are few, if any countries, that take transparency to this level."
He said he was confident that political parties would use the atlas not only to help fight elections, but also to help communities from voter districts which were experiencing a low voter turnout, to come forward and cast their ballot.
Ahead of next year's local government elections, Zuma called on MPs to support councillors to improve service delivery.
He said mayors and municipal managers told him in a meeting last year that they were often blamed by community members when problems of service delivery arose, but that MPs and provincial and national government were not always there to assist them.
"We must, as other spheres of government, as well as Parliament, work harder to support local government to perform their work better. Local government must not be a forgotten sphere of government" said Zuma.
Bam said the atlas had helped to drive transparency and effectiveness in the elections.
"One of the things we like very much about the atlas is the encouragement it gives to political parties to go into other areas where they haven't performed before, which we think is very good for our democracy," she said.
Bam said 47 countries had so far sought assistance from the IEC on how to run free and fair elections.
The atlas had also been presented to the UN, AU, Commonwealth, universities and colleges.
Bam said additionally to the atlas, the commission also had developed a geographic information system which had won the Computer World Smithsonian Award. It is a vote counting machine which promotes electoral transparency.
