The Electoral Commission in KwaZulu-Natal met with the members of the media today, 20 July 2016, at Westville to provide and update on the provinces preparedness for the 2016 Local Government Elections to be held on the 3rd of August 2016.
Today it is 14 days to the 3rd of August. We are in the final stretch with our preparations for the Election Day. We confirm that we have fulfilled all the timetable outlined activities on scheduled published dates, outstanding is the administration of special votes and the Election Day.
We are firmly focussed in our final administrative preparation which is the printing of ballots; the logistics of the election; the infrastructure of voting stations; voter education focussed on balloting; and the training of party agents.
The election will commence with the administration of Special Votes on the 1st and 2nd of August for those who applied on time and were approved for voting station visits and home visits. The Commission received 82 416applications for Special Votes, of these, 50 342 were approved for Home Visits, 29 856 were approved for Voting Station Visits and 2 218 were declined.
We have completed training on the management of voting stations, counting and results for over 54 000 electoral staff who will work at our voting stations plus 930 area managers. Distribution of electoral material will be concluded on 28 July August 2016.
Our Outreach staff in local offices is currently busy with balloting education in communities to educate potential voters on the balloting process and the number of ballot papers that they should expect when arriving at voting stations.
There will be three ballots; one for ward candidate (White & Grey); one for the local municipality PR (Yellow background); and one for the District municipality PR (Green background). We encourage voters to ensure they vote in all three and that each one is stamped at the back. We remind all voters that it is illegal to take a photo of your marked ballot.
We further remind all voters, party agents and observers that weapons are not allowed at voting station. We urge those who are licensed for firearms to take note of this and make the necessary arrangements not to bring their firearms to the voting station.
We remind voters that they can only use their Green bar coded ID Book or Smart card ID or the Temporary Identity Certificate (TIC) to vote.
The KwaZulu Natal Provincial Office will be operating a Results Operations Centre at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Results Operations Centre from the 29th of July until the results announcement on Saturday the 6th of August. This will be a nerve center where all the results from voting stations throughout province will be verified and captured.
Members of the media have been advised to apply for accreditation to gain access to this Results Operations Centre. For those who have applied and approved, access cards will be distributed at the launch of the Centre which is scheduled to take place on the 29th of July at 14h00. It is important to note that members of the media that wish to visit our voting station, no special accreditation is required. A media staff card or a letter from the editor will suffice.
The voting hours on 3 August 2016 will be 7h00 to 19h00 hours. The Election Day has been declared a public holiday. We urge all voters to vote early. We also urge all employers whose operations are functional on public holidays to make the necessary arrangements for their employees to go and vote.
The Commission has also approved a number of applications from local and international observers. They will also communicate with citizens of this country and province in due course.
Through our Conflict Management Desk, we have received about ten complaints from different political parties within the province. The complaints were mainly related removal of campaign posters, intimidation and disruption of campaign activities. These cases were attended to and resolved through our mediation process between the political parties. Only three alleged cases of assault remain the responsibility of the SAPS for further investigation through to the judiciary process.
We have received reports from the SAPS, Joints Operations Committee and political parties relating to incidents that are presumed to be politically motivated.
These include killing of Ward Candidates in AbaQulusi, Newcastle, Harding and Ladysmith. They are being investigated by the SAPS as murder cases. We regret the loss of life during the election process and we indeed concerned with the recent incidents. We will work continuously with law enforcement on this aspect of developments.
We are meeting regularly with security structures in the province to jointly plan for the Election Day as well as the prevailing campaign environment. We are satisfied that the joint effort has greatly improved security of the elections and ensured stability in the province.
Reports of political protests in areas such as Umsinga, KwaDukuza, Umsunduzi, Vryheid, Bergville, Estcourt, Ugu District and Durban have also been received.
They are mostly related to members of political parties disgruntled with party lists and the reaction to the disqualification of candidates and political parties.
The matters above have received the attention of the Multi-Party Political Intervention Committee (MPPIC) chaired by MEC of Community Safety in the province.
The committee meets weekly and deal with cases of political intolerance and seek immediate intervention and resolution of these politically. The success of the committee this far is commendable.
We have achieved considerable improvement of voting station infrastructure due to the partnership with provincial government. Given our challenges with scarcity of water the provincial government has ensured that they will be drinking water at all voting stations; they have provided temporary lighting where the voting station has no lighting; they have improved sanitation in many of the schools in the province; they have provided mobile sanitation where this is the only means.
The task team led by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in the province has performed remarkably.
The future is in hands! Vote early on August 3!
Find out where your correct voting station is by visiting the VS Finder page on the IEC website or calling the IEC toll-free number on: 0800 11 8000
For media queries please contact:
Communications Officer
Thabani Ngwira
Tel: 031 279 2200
Cell: 084 505 5117
E-mail: ngwirat@elections.org.za
