Voters who did not apply for a special vote will not be able to cast their ballot this weekend: IEC

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says those who need special votes but did not apply for them will not be able to vote this weekend.

It says the process has to remain transparent and fair to everyone. Approximately 26-million South Africans are eligible to vote in the polls, with over 95 000 candidates running for elections.

IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer for Outreach, Mawethu Mosery, says the commission is ready to start with special votes on Saturday.

“Over a hundred thousand that we declined when they applied for special votes. We need to inform political parties because they are part of the process. So we say these are the applicants. These are the approved. This is how we will visit them and this is where we will expect them. So all of that detail must be shared upfront. That is why we closed special votes two weeks ago.”

IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says it’s all systems go for the November 1 polls:

Western Cape ready for Monday’s elections

The IEC in the Western Cape says it is fully prepared to host the Local Government Elections and the casting of special ballots. The commission briefed the media virtually on its readiness for the poll.

IEC Electoral Officer, Michael Hendrickse, says there will be 1 577 voting stations across the province during the elections.

“The 1 577 voting stations will include an estimated 474 voting stations and 35 temporary voting stations. The temporaries are normally a tent that we have to put up to serve a voting station. In some of our densely populated districts, challenges are created in terms of ensuring that we have a suitable voting station that conforms to accessibility and also to prevent and mitigate against long queues.”

Western Cape IEC also says it has engaged with Eskom to ensure that load shedding does not occur during the local government elections. Hendrickse, says load shedding will have a severe impact on operations at voting stations. He says generators will be used if necessary for operations to continue.

“The commission has been engaged with Eskom at a national level to ensure that load shedding does not occur over Monday and Tuesday, because that will impact on our operations. We have some measures in place, for example especially our temporary stations, where we have generators in place to provide electricity and this is either hired or provided by our local municipalities who assist us in that particular regard.”

President deploys SANDF for elections

President Cyril Ramaphosa has informed Parliament that 10 000 soldiers will be deployed throughout the country to ensure a safe and secure environment during the local government elections on Monday.

Voting stations open at 7am and close at 9pm.

Special voting takes place this weekend.

Ramaphosa says the deployment will start from Saturday and run until November 3.

The deployment will cost R47 million.

In terms of the Constitution, the President is required to inform Parliament about the deployment of SANDF, the reasons for the deployment, the duration and the costs involved.