Electoral Commission briefs media on readiness for special votes

Greetings South Africans and members of the media,

The Electoral Commission is ready to welcome voters who have qualified for Special Votes in the 2024 National and Provincial elections. On 27 and 28 May, officials from the Commission will visit homes and institutions of care, as well as welcome, at voting stations across the country, those voters approved to vote by special vote.

1,668,076 South Africans have been approved for Special Votes, following the 3 May deadline. Of these, a total of 624,593 voters will be visited by trained election officers at their homes or places of confinement. We are encouraged by the number of Special Votes received that South African are enthused for this general election.

The provincial breakdown of the Special Votes is as follows: Gauteng (335,480), KwaZulu-Natal (320,010), Eastern Cape (286,059), Limpopo (159,800), Western Cape (137,558), North-West (132,627), Mpumalanga (126,112), Free State (86,908), and Northern Cape (83,504).

Special votes will be administered in the presence of representatives of contestants and observers where those are available.

Voters are reminded to have their identity documents as a requirement for participation. After casting a ballot, the ballots will be inserted in an unmarked envelope which will in turn be inserted in a second envelop with details of the voter.

Voting stations will be open between 9am and 5pm at the same time home visits will be undertaken. Only voters who were approved for special votes will be allowed to vote on 27 and 28 May.

Special Vote Transportation

After the voting process, the ballots, in their double envelopes, will be transported to local storage sites for safekeeping until they are reintroduced at voting stations on 29 May for counting.

We wish to emphasize that; voters must vote where their names appear on the voter’s roll. Although voters could vote at any voting station in previous general elections and still qualify for the national ballot if voting outside of their registered province, this is no longer the case. Amendments were effected to assist with election planning and to counter any attempts at double-voting. The Electoral Commission takes this opportunity to remind all voters that they can only vote in voting districts where they are registered.

We remind South Africans that the counting of votes takes place at each voting station in the presence of political party agents and independent candidate agents and observers where present. The results slip will be counter-signed by party agents and displayed at that voting station. All interested parties are allowed to capture a photo of the official result of that voting station, with their gadgets.

Ballot Papers

The National Ballot: This ballot will be used to vote for political parties. There are currently 52 parties who will be on this ballot and the configuration will be a dual column.

The Regional to National Ballots: This ballot will have political parties and independent candidates contesting for the seats reserved for each province in the National Assembly. Voters will use this ballot to elect a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in the National Assembly.

The Provincial Ballots. This ballot is unique to each province and includes parties and independent candidates competing for seats in each respective provincial legislature. This ballot will allow voters to choose either a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in provincial legislatures.

Measures in place for persons with disabilities

The voting process has been made more accessible to all South Africans. Voting officials will assist all voters who require assistance on voting day.

In collaboration with the South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB), we have developed a voting aid, the Universal Ballot Template (UBT), to enable all citizens to exercise their vote confidently and confidentially.

The UBT can be used by:

Obstruction with Election Activities in Kwa-Zulu

The Electoral Commission (IEC) notes with great concern incidents that occurred at the eThekwini municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, on 25 May 2024.

Videos are circulating on social media by supporters of MK party alleged "vote rigging" in progress. These videos relate to activities at Commission’s storage sites in Chesterville and Hammersdale.

We wish to clarify that the videos depict our planned logistical arrangements and storage of election materials as we prepare for the first day of special voting on 27 May 2024. These are legitimate and authorized arrangements for the distribution of ballot papers and other bulk material.

The planned security measures were that the trucks distributing ballot papers are escorted by SAPS to the local storage site. These storage sites will then be guarded on a 24-hours basis. This arrangement would ensure that the storage sites are protected against unauthorized entry, burglary, and tempering with election materials and ensure detailed control and recording of all items in storage.

Threats directed the Commission’s staff

We further note another incident in eThekwini where a presiding officer was woken at home in the middle of the night about bulk material stored at the Baptist Church voting station in Chesterville. Bulk material is voting booths, voting station signage/banners and new unfolded ballot boxes. 

This bulk electoral material was taken to Cato Manor police station in eThekwini, in KwaZulu Natal.

It is part of the logistical plan for the Commission to deliver bulk material to voting stations ahead of election day. This is meant to ensure that voting stations open on time as only security material such as ballot papers will be delivered on the day of voting.
The Commission strongly condemns threats to its staff. No party nor its representatives have authority to gain access to private homes of electoral staff. Worse still no party nor its representatives may take control of election material without being authorised.

We call on South Africans to come out in numbers and exercise their democratic right to vote. We further continue our call to citizens, media members, and political party leaders to set a good example and foster an electoral environment based on trust, integrity, and respect for all.

It’s your democracy; own it!