The Electoral Commission (IEC) launched its campaign for the fifth democratic National and Provincial Elections in Midrand today. The general elections will be held in the second quarter of 2014.
The Chairperson of the Commission, Adv. Pansy Tlakula, unveiled the 2014 Elections campaign logo: ‘I Vote South Africa’ (IXSA). The vibrant campaign seeks to create a call to all South Africans eligible to vote to commit to the future of South Africa by ensuring that they register and vote in the upcoming elections. The myriad campaign images achieve this by showing South Africans from all walks of life, but especially the youth, affirming their unique reasons for voting to persuade fellow South Africans to take the same action, whatever their reason for voting. The campaign also underlines the fact that the 2014 Elections will mark the 20-year anniversary of South Africa’s electoral democracy.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mosotho Moepya said the organisation is cognisant of the challenges presented by a maturing democracy; particularly on the occasion that South Africa celebrates 20 years of democracy.
“As an election management body, we are mindful of the huge responsibility that rests upon us to implement election management processes that will produce an outcome that will be accepted by all contesting political parties and voters. The IEC’s strength lies in our ability to consolidate our gains, to innovate and to prepare meticulously for each election. Whatever our successes in the past, we’re only as good as our last election,” added Moepya.
Preparations for the 2014 elections are well under way. The IEC has already undertaken the careful re-alignment of its voting district network in line with changes in human settlement patterns since the 2011 Municipal Elections. In September, the IEC undertook work to reach and register individuals who needed to re-register because their voting boundaries had changed. This took place in some 2 300 voting districts nationwide. In some instances, communities were targeted because the Census 2011 pointed to under-registration of persons eligible to register and vote. This exercise yielded some 400 000 new and re-registrations.
The IEC has established approximately 22 300 voting districts for the 2014 National and Provincial Elections. All the 22 300 voting districts will have their stations open for registration over the weekend of 9 and 10 November 2013, from 08h00 to 17h00 on each day. Some 1 200 voting centres, which are put in place in compact, high-density areas which cannot be delimited into smaller voting districts any further, will once again be put in place for the 2014 Elections. First introduced in the 2011 Municipal Elections, these voting centres enable the operation of anything from two to five fully-staffed voting sub-stations at a single venue. These voting sub-stations combine their results, so that each voting centre still issues a single results slip.
An estimated 60 000 registration officials have been trained for the voter registration weekend and no less than 215 000 staff members will be recruited for Election Day. Party Liaison Committees have been consulted to ensure that presiding and deputy presiding officers comply with the criteria set for their appointment and that they would indeed discharge their responsibility impartially, efficiently and with distinction.
Furthermore, CEO Moepya indicated that the IEC is well prepared for changes to the Electoral Act, 73 of 1998, as outlined in the Electoral Amendment Bill 2013. In terms of the latter, all prisoners in the Republic of South Africa are entitled to register to vote and vote in elections. Moreover, all South African citizens based abroad and in possession of a valid South African identity document and passport may register to vote and cast their vote in National Elections.
The IEC has activated its 0800 11 8000 call-centre number, which is toll-free from a landline. This call centre is operational between 08h00 and 17h00 to assist eligible voters with any queries pertaining to registration and voting in the upcoming elections.
A short message service (SMS) facility has been made available to eligible voters to check their registration details via cell phone. This facility is user-friendly and is available on all cellular networks. All that a potential voter has to do is to SMS her or his identity number to 32810 and in return they will receive confirmation of their registration details.
In addition registration details can be verified at any time through the ‘Am I registered?’ facility on the IEC website at www.elections.org.za. Voters can check whether they are registered and, if not, where they should register on the website’s Voting Station Finder application.
“We have also made an effort to put in place capacity on our social media platforms, namely Facebook, Twitter and Mxit, to deal with queries from our technology-savvy youth in a medium that they are familiar with,” noted Moepya.
The IEC’s civic and voter education initiatives continue, with education materials being distributed to communities by the IEC’s Outreach staff, through messaging on the IEC’s social media platforms, and for the first time, through a voluntary Schools Democracy Week programme run in proud partnership with the Department of Basic Education from 1 to 7 October 2013.
In conclusion, the IEC made a call to all eligible voters to use the facilities provided across the wide range of communication platforms to check their registration details and then to vote in the landmark 2014 Elections. “Our dedication to the future of our beloved South Africa must stir each one of us to participate in the upcoming elections”, concluded Moepya.
You can also find the IEC on -
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/IECSouthAfrica
• Twitter: @IECSouthAfrica
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/IECSouthAfrica
For media queries: Please contact
Kate Bapela
Cell: 082 600 6386
For media interviews:
E-mail: spokesperson@elections.org.za
