Will an electronic voting system ensure free and fair elections? Malema says EFF votes have been stolen in the past

EFF leader Julius Malema says South Africa must move to electronic voting for the general and local government elections.

He briefed the media in Johannesburg on Wednesday, where he described the current voting system as outdated and easy to manipulate.

“The IEC [Independent Electoral Commission] must make things smooth and user-friendly. That is what discourages the youth of South Africa,” he said.

Malema said the IEC must also develop innovations, such as making its website accessible even when users do not have data.

“Make life easy for the youth if you want to attract the youth to come and vote, [but] they do not do that. Technology has become so advanced, so extremely advanced,” he said.

Malema claimed the ANC opposes digitising the voting system because it would be out of power if such an innovation were implemented.

“They know if they do that, the ANC will be out of power in less than a second, they will be out completely, they do not do it because they are protecting the status quo, which operates and wins through thuggery and stealing,” he alleged.

He did provide proof of alleged vote stealing, but said he had witnessed signs in previous elections that his party’s votes had been tampered with.

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Vigilant for the next elections

Malema said that for the coming local government elections, his party will take extra steps to ensure that it is not robbed of its votes.

“We are investing in ensuring that every vote of the EFF is accounted for; if it means we look at EFF people at the voting station and we doubt that they have the capacity engage a presiding officer, we will rather employ people outside the EFF who come from the purposes of employment and monitoring EFF results.

“The EFF vote, I can tell you without thinking twice, is stolen, it gets stolen,” he said.

Concerns about vote-rigging

Malema is not the first politician to raise concerns about alleged vote rigging during elections; the MK party has also raised similar concerns, but no tangible evidence has been provided to support their claims.

The IEC has also defended its integrity and those of the elections they hold.

The commission has previously expressed concern about voter apathy, especially among young people.

Some believe an electronic voting system could attract young people and ensure an outright winner, unlike the last general election, which produced a coalition arrangement.

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