With the election date of May 29 having been proclaimed and the voters’ roll closed, the process of voter verification is underway.

According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa, known as the IEC, voter verifications and other validations will ensure compliance with the law in terms of people’s eligibility to vote.

The election timetable, used by the IEC to prepare for the elections, was published on Saturday.

The timetable outlines cut-off times and dates for various election activities for candidates and voters.

For voters, it includes dates by when applications for special votes must be in, and by when the IEC must receive notifications from people who want to vote outside of the voting station where they registered.

For contestants, it contains key dates relating to the nomination of candidates and the payment of prescribed deposits.

Voters’ roll activities

• The provisional voters’ roll will be published for inspection today.
• An electronic version of the voters’ roll will be made available at all IEC offices for inspection.
• Those who wish to object to the inclusion or exclusion of a voter on the voters’ roll must do so by March 4.
• Objections received on or before March 4 will be considered, investigated and determined by the IEC by March 11.
• Following the determination of voters’ roll objections, the chief electoral officer (CEO) will certify the voters’ roll on March 12.
• Electronic copies of the certified voters’ roll will be made available to contestants and a printed copy will be prepared for use in voting stations on Election Day.

Voting stations

The official list of the 23 292 voting stations will be available for inspection from April 12.

The list will include the addresses of the voting stations and the closing times of the 33 mobile stations.

Special votes in South Africa

Those who are infirm, confined and unable to reach voting stations must apply to be visited for a special vote at home.

Those who will not be in their voting districts on May 29 can also apply for a special vote to cast ballots ahead of Election Day.

Both home visits and voting station-based special votes will happen on May 27 and 28.

Applications for special votes close on May 3.

Special votes outside South Africa

Those who intend to vote outside of the country and who are registered on a specific country’s segment of the voters’ roll, do not have to give notice to the CEO that they will be voting in that country. The law assumes that they will be voting at the diplomatic mission of registration.

Those registered elsewhere, including locally registered voters who intend to vote at a particular diplomatic mission outside the country, must give notice to the CEO of their intention to vote in that country.

The notice to vote out of the country can be submitted from today until April 22.

An online notification facility is available on the IEC’s website.

Special voting at diplomatic missions will happen on May 17 or May 18. The exact date for each diplomatic mission will be determined by considering the host’s country dominant religious and cultural practices.

Voting outside of your voting station of registration

Voters must vote where they are registered.

However, if a voter intends to be in a different voting district on voting day, they must notify the IEC of their intended absence from their voting district and the voting station where they wish to cast their votes. A notification portal will be launched for this purpose soon. Notifications will close on May 17.

Candidate nomination

This election not only marks 30 years of electoral democracy but also introduces a third ballot in the National and Provincial Elections and the participation of independent candidates.

Candidates can be nominated via the online candidate nomination platform.

For more information about nominating candidates, which must done by 17:00 on March 8, click here.

The final lists of candidates will be published on April 10.

Contact the IEC at 0800 11 8000.