Electoral Commission urges South Africans to push for a strong finish to the 2024 national and provincial elections
South Africa is in the final 2 hours of voting in the 2024 National and Provincial elections. Although we are nearing the end of the voting period, most South African voters are still casting their ballots in most parts of the country.
We are experiencing a late surge and are processing a large number of voters in certain areas, particularly the metropolitan areas in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
In today’s earlier briefing, the Commission indicated that it would implement measures to increase the processing of voters in busy areas. We are pleased that our efforts are yielding results, with length of the queues substantially reduced. The Commission is also pleased to report that most glitches reported earlier have been overcome, allowing electoral officials to service voters timeously.
The Commission wishes to reiterate that all voters who arrive at the voting stations before 21h00 will be allowed to vote, even if it takes beyond the closing time to complete the process. This provision ensures that every citizen who has made an effort to be at the voting station must be allowed to vote can do so. We urge those who have not voted to use the remaining two hours to go and make their mark. Members of the SAPS will remain deployed at the voting stations to ensure the safety of voters.
The Commission is pleased with the high turnout at many voting stations across the country and thanks voters who have exercised patience in the queues while waiting for their turn to vote.
Voting has been completed at all correctional facilities across the country. We remain grateful to the Department of Correctional Services for its ongoing assistance in ensuring that inmates exercise their democratic rights.
Once the counting processes have been completed, the Commission will start a process to remove all voting material – ballot boxes, used ballots, to storage facilities. This process will handled with utmost care. However, should members of the public spot electoral material, they are urged not to touch them but to report the matter to the police.
The Department of Home Affairs office remains open until 21h00 to assist voters who want to collect or apply for identity documents.
Counting process
In order to improve the quality of the counting and the completion of result slips, the Commission has instituted a new category of staff who will support the presiding officer with the counting effort. The recruitment criteria for these staff was slightly different from the rest as high levels of numeracy are mandatory. Three such staff were being appointed for each voting station and each sub-station where we operate a voting centre.
The Commission now wishes to share with the public, the counting process that will unfold from now until the results are announced.
- First and foremost, ballots are counted at the voting station where they are cast. Party agents, independent candidate agents, and observers monitor the entire counting and results process and are present at all times.
- Sealed ballot boxes are opened and emptied.
- Each ballot paper is unfolded facedown and checked for the Electoral Commission security stamp. Stamped ballots are considered valid. Unstamped ballots are invalid and are not counted toward the results.
- All valid ballot papers are grouped according to colours representing the type of election (National, Regional and Provincial). The ballots are sorted into piles according to votes for each party and each candidate.
- The ballots are counted and bundled into packs of 100. The results are counted for each party or candidate.
- The results for the various parties or candidates are reconciled against the number of ballots received and the total number of ballots cast at that voting station.
- Results slips are signed by the Presiding officer, independent candidate agents and party agents. A copy of the results slip is posted on the door of each voting station. The other copy is transported to the local Electoral Commission office where it is scanned and captured in the results system. The results are also verified by independent external auditors.
- The results centres are there for political party representatives and independents to monitor the voting, counting and results process. Other stakeholders present include the media and observers.
- The final results and seat allocation for the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures Elections are announced by the Electoral Commission within 7 days of the election.
According to the Electoral Act, the Commission has 7 days within which to announce the results. We have always been able to declare and announce the results well within this period and will endeavour to do so with these elections.
The Electoral Commission thanks key role players in this election, political parties and independents at the National Political Liaison (NPLC), Provincial Political Liaison Committee (PPLC), and the Local Political Liaison Committees (LPLC). We continuously engage in the unfolding election process and deal with the issues arising from the operations in various sites of the 23 292 voting stations.
The Electoral Commission again wishes to thank voters who have already responded to the call to vote and appeals to all remaining voters to make their way to a voting station before they close at 21H00 tonight.
