The Electoral Commission says the significant increase in political parties contesting this year’s election, has considerably raised the cost of preparing for the elections.
48-political parties will contest the May 8 national poll with over 600 contesting the nine provinces. Political parties will on Wednesday sign the electoral code of conduct.
Addressing the event in Midrand in Johannesburg, IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo says they are ready to provide free and fair elections.
He adds that they have been working with an international organisation to train at least a thousand IEC officials to mitigate and deal with any violence that may arise during the voting process.
“The significant increase in the number of contesting parties has placed a perverse cost burden on the IEC. The commission has been working with a European centre for electoral support on a project to prevent and mitigate and manage election-related conflict and potential violence. We have managed to train over a 1 000 individuals in leadership and conflict management in electoral processes. The electoral commission is on track and will deliver elections on the 8th of May.”
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo says Gauteng will be the hotly contested province in the 2019 elections with 36 parties fighting for the heart and soul of the country’s richest province #sabcnews
— Ntebo Mokobo (@MokoboNtebo) March 20, 2019
Thus far, these are the FOUR parties (of the 48) that have come to the podium that will be contesting nationally: African Christian Democratic Party, African Congress of Democrats, African Content Movement and African Covenant #sabcnews
— Ronesh Dhawraj (@ronesh) March 20, 2019
IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini: As we contest the elections, let us at all times respect the rights of others. Remember in 49 days these elections will be over but our democratic journey will continue #sabcnews
— Ronesh Dhawraj (@ronesh) March 20, 2019
The voter’s roll for the 2019 elections has been certified. There are 26.7 million registered voters, a representation of 74.6% of the voting age population. The voter’s roll comprises 55% women and 45% mean #sabcnews
— Ronesh Dhawraj (@ronesh) March 20, 2019
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