Election Watch members pleased with the uptake of election observer volunteers – but still need more

Several weeks ago the civil society group Defend Our Democracy (DoD) launched its election observer campaign for the upcoming polls.

Its central aim is to have eyes and ears across the province and country to ensure the integrity of the election on election day. It also hopes in the run-up to the May 29 event, to educate and mobilise South Africans to participate in the process and participate actively in the country’s democratic processes.

Ward 87 councillor Bridget Steer says, “I fully support any independent election monitors as long as they abide the the rules and have a full understanding of the electoral processes.”

Zaakirah Vadi from DoD says they are happy with how the call for observers has gone. “The number of individuals and organisations who have signed up has been good, but we are still hoping more come forward. This opportunity ends on May 1 which is the IEC’s closing date for observers to register.”

She says they have completed all provincial visits and are now focused on three main goals.

“Firstly we hope to finalise our registration efforts for observers to ensure as many voting stations are covered as possible. At the same time, we are doing final checks on the App that has been created for this work. It needs to be not only functional but easy for observers to use. Lastly, we need to train everyone who is working with us for Election Watch.”

She says making sure everyone knows what to expect on election day is a top priority and that step-by-step training will be provided. “We don’t want anyone to feel unprepared or uneasy so getting all our ducks in a row and doing various tests to achieve that is front and centre of our work up until election day.”

Cynthia Stimpel, DoD national committee member said at the Gauteng launch in Parktown, “We are a coming together of civil society, labour, business, faith-based, the legal fraternity, academia, and activists from all walks of life who want to improve and enhance our constitutional democracy.

“We need to ensure there is accountability when it comes to behaviours of political parties and demand effective governance by those in power.

“Instead of small groups in small corners across the country individually monitoring the elections alone, we’d like to join forces and have a national spread of eyes and ears looking out for irregularities or problems.”

Andries Sibanyni and Tshedza Sikhwari from Election Watch manned a stall at the successful Human Rights Festival at Constitution Hill recently. Aside from being available to answer questions the public may have about the polls, they were actively recruiting people to join the election observer project.

Sibanyni said, “We are working hard to have as many observers as we can across the province but are pleased with how the call to participate is going.”

Rekgotsofetse Chikane said previously, “The vote is the only option we have that can show people in power that we are unhappy. There are not enough tools available to hold people accountable. We have had an entire state capture commission yet not a single person has been arrested.

“People must go out in numbers to vote, but with stakes this high, we also need eyes and ears everywhere to make sure the elections are free and fair.

“We can do all the leg work and get people registered to vote and take them to vote but if the election is stolen then it is for nothing.

“We need to support the IEC, a critical Chapter 9 institution in whom we have enormous trust, they are just not well enough funded.”

DoD and others hope to have a blanket of independent observers across the country – a feat that can only happen if people and organisations register in numbers.

“Wherever an organisation is located, they can be linked to a nearby voting station where staff can easily observe the elections. They can then continuously feed information into a common system that will be used to analyse if the elections were indeed credible, free, and fair.”

All applicants and organisations who participate in this process will be granted permission by the IEC who will do verification checks.

The IEC lists observers as:

• Keeping an eye on the voting process at voting stations, the counting of votes, and the final counting, determination and declaration of results.
• Election observation is a voluntary activity with no remuneration.

To become an election watch observer with DoD, register here

Related article: Defend Our Democracy holds Gauteng roadshow to enlist election observers