Eastern Cape Province is ready to support IEC towards attaining free and fair elections
The countdown is on. Seven Days to go! We are ready!
President Cyril Ramaphosa declared 29 May 2024 as the official date wherein South Africans will cast their votes in the 2024 National and Provincial Elections (NPE) to elect the new members of the National Assembly and the Provincial Legislatures thus usher in the 7th administration.
To this end, our Department has delivered on its mammoth responsibility by providing support to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) towards attaining free and fair elections in our Province. This task has been attained through collaborative efforts with various government role players, sharing resources, information and coordination of municipalities through integrated plans.
We have been advised by the IEC that the number of voting stations has increased by fifty-nine (59), since the last Local Government Elections (LGE) from four thousand eight hundred and nine (4 809) to four thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight (4 868). The increase inevitably made us to be more focused and intentional in our planning.
The IEC has confirmed that the Elections will take place throughout the province as follows;
- 4 775 Permanent Voting Station
- 93 Voting Stations
- 111 Voting Centres
- 10 Mobile Voting Stations
The contracting of all voting stations including survey of available infrastructure is complete.
Section 181(3) of the Constitution, 1996, mandates other organs of state through Legislative and other measures, to assist and protect Chapter 9 Institutions to ensure their independence, impartiality, dignity, and effectiveness. This is the basis of the sectoral assistance provided to the IEC to render free and fair elections.
We have attended to all infrastructure challenges that could have impeded voters not to exercise their democratic right to votes in a conducive environment. These amongst other things include dilapidated voting station infrastructure, complaints on matters of service delivery, lack of knowledge pertaining the right to vote, high crime levels that instill fear, access to identification documents, etc. Cogta officials are on the ground interacting with municipal leadership to engage the aggrieved communities thus encourage them to vote and mitigate protest actions.
We have an all-inclusive, integrated disaster preparedness posture in place to support our communities to participate in the election process without acute disruptions and mitigate any human made and natural disturbance that may impede the IEC from carrying out its constitutional mandate.
Lately, our Province has been experiencing numerous impacts of small scale, medium to large disasters which continues to overwhelm the disaster management capacity to prevent them from happening. Most of these incidents resulted from weather related hazards such as tornadoes, strong winds, lightning and thunderstorm, floods and even veld fires. The increase in climate variability has affected weather patterns, with more fires, snow, drought and decrease in temperature levels.
Our Provincial Elections Task Team (PETT) which is the nerve centre to coordinate the NPE also reported that;
- Progress has been made in the District and Metro municipalities to establish Joint Operation Centres (JOC).
- The Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) has prepared a Provincial Elections Contingency Plan to enhance preparedness and response activities. In the event of a threatening or occurring disaster, all role players must report to the Provincial Disaster Operations Committee (PDOC). In respect of disasters that occur in a municipality, the Head of the District or Metropolitan Municipality will coordinate and manage local disaster response activities.
- Robust communication strategy and action plan has been executed through the Local Government Communication System led by COGTA and supported by GCIS, SALGA and Municipalities.
- Schools are ready to be used as voting centres and official communique with the assistance of District Managers.
- All Logistical arrangements are in place for voting stations including drinkable water, generators and backup lights, mobile toilets, transportation of staff, etc.
The SAPS in the Eastern Cape has committed to ensure that the people of the Province may cast their votes in a stable, peaceful, and safe environment. They remain steadfast in this commitment to uphold peace and stability in an accountable and transparent manner. The Provincial Commissioner of SAPS assured that all safety and security measures have been put in place to create an environment for crime free elections. Duties being performed by police members include static protection at voting stations, escorting of voting material and IEC personnel, patrolling of hotspots, investigating reported offences and the deployment of roving reaction teams comprising members of SAPS’s highly trained units.
The SAPS plays a central security role supported by several government departments and other agencies, including the intelligence environment.
We encourage people to report any threats to the voting process to the SAPS on 08600 10111.
The count down towards the NPE has begun and the Eastern Cape Province is ready to unleash the 7th administration through free and fair elections.
For more information, please contact:
Mamnkeli Ngam
Cell: 071 685 7981
Pheello Olifant
082 432 6433
