23 February 2009
The countdown for the 2009 National and Provincial Elections started in
earnest with the publication of the election timetable in the Government
Gazette on Monday, 16 February, the Chief Electoral Officer, Adv Pansy Tlakula,
said.
"After the promulgation of the date for the elections on 12 February 2009,
the Commission approved an election timetable, which outlines the electoral
processes until Election Day," she said.
The election timetable outlines and gives timeframes for among others
special votes. Arrangements have been put in place for the casting of special
votes for the 2009 national and provincial elections. Only certain categories
of voters qualify to cast a special vote on 20 and 21 April 2009 within South
Africa or on 15 April at South African missions abroad.
If a person is a South African citizen, eighteen years and older, has
registered with the Electoral Commission and their name appears on the votersâ
roll, but they cannot vote on Election Day at the voting station in the voting
district which they have been registered, because of any of the following
reasons, they qualify for a special vote.
This may be due to:
* physical infirmity, disability and pregnancy
* absence on government service abroad
* being an Election official
* being a member of the security services performing an Election duty
* being temporarily absent from the Republic for the purpose of a holiday, a
business trip, attending a tertiary institution, on an educational visit or
participating in an international sports event
Persons in the category of physical infirmity, disability and pregnancy can
apply either between 1 April to 14 April 2009 at the office of the Municipal
Electoral Officer or on 20 April 2009 between 09h00 and 17h00 at the Office
of the Presiding Officer of the voting district in which they are
registered.
If they find themselves in hospital in a different town or city, then they
must apply between 1 and 14 April 2009 at the Municipal Electoral Office of the
town or city in which the hospital is situated. IEC officials will then visit
such voters on 20 and 21 April 2009 at the place indicated on their application
to enable them to cast their votes.
Election officials, members of the security forces performing election duty
as well as South Africans who will be outside the borders of South Africa and
have indicated that they wanted to vote prior to departure, can apply and vote
on 20 and 21 April 2009 between 09h00 and 17h00 at the Office of the Presiding
Officer of the voting district in which they have registered.
South Africans who will be temporarily out of the country on Election Day on
holiday, a business trip, attending a tertiary institution, on an educational
visit or participating in an international sports event are required to notify
the Chief Electoral Officer of their intention to vote and whether they want to
apply and cast a special vote on 20 or 21 April 2009 in their voting district
before they depart South Africa, or of they want to vote at a specified South
African foreign mission abroad on 15 April 2009.
This they do by completing a VEC10 form, which is available on the IEC
website, and deliver the completed form to the Electoral Commission not later
than midnight on 27 February 2009 either by hand to:
Election House
Physical Address: 260 Walker Street, Pretoria
Postal Address: PO Box 7943, Pretoria, 0001
Tel: 012 428 5279
Fax: 012 428 5566
Voters voting in South Africa will have to produce their South African,
green, bar-coded identity documents or a valid Temporary Identity Certificate
while South Africans voting at missions abroad will be asked for their identity
documents and passports.
For more information please visit:
IEC website: http://www.elections.org.za
Tel: 0800 11 8000 (toll free from a landline)
For media queries please contact:
Kate Bapela
Cell: 082 600 6386
Issued by: Independent Electoral Commission
23 February 2009
