Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says they have requested police to intervene nationally in problem areas during this voters’ registration weekend.
However, he says they are pleased with how the first day of voters’ registration weekend has proceeded.
Over 98% of the more than 23 000 voting stations opened on time. At least 53 voting stations did not open on time mainly due to service delivery protests.
At the close of registration on Saturday, 488 670 people had registered.
“We’ve been working with the Natjoints. We also had a priority committee meeting. Where possible, hotspots have been identified. They’ve been handed over to the South African Police Service, who will provide the necessary security protocols,” says Mamabolo.
The Electoral Commission also says it hopes the new Voter Management Devices will streamline the registration and voting processes.
“VMDs will enable citizenship verification as well as the correct capturing of the residential addresses assisted by a functionality which is built into the apps on the device. Registration applications have been loaded and at least one VMD has been allocated to each voting station on the logistics information system,” says Mamabolo.
Video: Readiness for the voter registration weekend on 18-19 September 2021
