IEC asks president to declare election day a public holiday
HOME Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has been asked to appeal to President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare the day of the local government elections, on November 1, a public holiday.
The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) announced yesterday that it has written to Motsoaledi to facilitate its request.
IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said: ”This intervention is aimed at affording all voters an equal footing to participate in the elections, without being encumbered by business and employment considerations on the day of voting.”
Mamabolo also indicated that the IEC was grateful that Basic Education
Minister Angie Motshekga adjusted the National Senior Certificate exams timetable to accommodate the municipal polls on November 1.
Her department announced this week that final school year exams had been brought forward, and would start on October 27 to accommodate the elections.
“This gesture from the minister will enable young voters, who are writing these examinations, to participate in the elections,” said Mamabolo.
The IEC also assured voters that voter registration stations would be safe and that the necessary preventative measures, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, would be in place in more than 23 100 registrations stations across the country this weekend.
The commission promised voters and its staff that their safety was a key priority, including over this voter registration weekend, as well as other subsequent election-related events.
Mamabolo said registration protocols, such as wearing of masks covering the nose and mouth, a minimum of 1.5 metres social distance, and sanitising of hands upon entry into the station, would apply at all registration stations.
The IEC has also issued a stern warning to communities and political party members, unhappy with the candidate nomination process, not to disrupt this weekend’s voter registration drive.
”We have been working with the NatJOINTS (National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure), we also had a priority committee meeting this morning, where possible hot spots have been identified and they have been handed over to the SAPS, who will provide the necessary security for people,” Mamabolo assured voters.
According to Mamabolo, no one should be interrupted, even if people are unhappy about any other process, be it from a political party or from the municipality, or any matter.
”It does not grant you the right to disrupt the registration process. We urge all communities, across the country – this is not a process to disrupt; this is about people vindicating their right to vote. These are constitutional rights and you have no right to interfere with them,” he said.
Mamabolo also disputed the EFF’s claim on Wednesday that the IEC’s online voter registration portal was “offline and has consistently been unreliable with the process of getting people registered successfully”, saying there were no struggles over the past few days.
He said there had been no online registration portal glitches over the past week.
”On Wednesday, we experienced a technical glitch, which we resolved (at) 4pm. Otherwise, the system has been functioning relatively well.
“There is a backlog, of course, which we are addressing manually – where people scanned photos of their IDs incorrectly and so on but, other than yesterday, when we experienced a technical glitch, the online system has been functioning as well as it should,” Mamabolo explained.
The IEC has indicated that 23 151 voter registration stations, across the country, would open from 8am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, with 48 899 officials to man them.