The Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa says special votes will be counted with all the votes that will be cast on Wednesday.
It says preparations for the special votes tomorrow and on Tuesday have been finalised.
The commission’s operations manager, James Aphane, says they will still ensure that the vote stays secret.
“When we count on the 29th together with other ballots from the same area, in other words from the same voting district, firstly we are going to discuss the first envelope; in other words the one that has got details on it and the one without details will be emptied inside the other ballots from the normal voting to make sure that the person who voted via a special vote did really have a right to do so. The reason we do that is that when we count with the rest of the votes in that voting station, we then de-link the particulars of the voter so that the vote remains secret,” says Aphane.
Over 1.6 million people have applied for special votes.
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have the most approved applications.
Aphane adds, “We do work closely with our partners that will be political parties on NPLC, they are aware of this project and they are aware of where special votes will be taking place.”
He also elaborates on the presence of political parties and observers.
“We also have observers that will be going with the teams to go to home visits and also be present at voting stations. So at home visits, yes there will be political parties and observers to be able to observe the process. So people will be assisted, those that are visually impaired or that are not stable in terms of being able to write. So there is assistance for those that are unable to vote normally like you and I,” says Aphane.
2024 Elections | Final day for special vote applications, IEC cautions against misinformation
