It’s time to make your mark
The Independent Electoral Commission's Provincial Head, Nkaro Mateta says they are committed to ensuring a free, fair and credible election
LIMPOPO – Mateta addressed a crowd at the Peter Mokaba Sports Complex, which serves as the IEC’s headquarters during the election, on Thursday, where he said it was all systems go for the 56 parties, 9 263 candidates, including the 100 independent candidates who will battle it out for the votes of 2,5 million South Africans for seats on district, city and municipal councils.
Voting at all 3 111 stations will open at 07:00 on Wednesday and close at 19:00 on the same day. “As the referee for elections, the IEC is ready. The outcome of local elections will determine many things that citizens tend to take for granted. Local taxes, the maintenance of streets, funding for city and village projects and occasionally the reputation of a city or local municipality all depend on the election of mayors, representatives and council members. We urge all South Africans to participate in the election to further strengthen our democracy,” she said.
“The IEC is happy that 2, 566 million citizens – the highest number of voters to date – registered to take part in the elections. Similarly, our multiparty democracy appears to be getting stronger and stronger with 56 parties contesting the elections. A big step up from the 20 parties in 2011 and only 16 in 2006. The number of candidates also increased to 9 263. There were only 6 656 in 2011 and a mere 5 613 in 2006.” Of the 9 263 candidates, 5 256 are party ward candidates and 4 007 are party-list proportional candidates.
The number of independent ward candidates decreased from 172 in 2011 to 100 in 2016. The decrease in the number of independent candidates relates to the fact that some have now established their own parties. As part of the verification compliance, 753 candidates were disqualified,” she said.
Of the disqualified candidates, the vast majority were disqualified for non-submission of documentation (46%), non-payment of deposits (38%) and not being registered in the municipality in which they wanted to contest (15%).
Elections provide interesting stats: 17 months of planning, six months of procurement, approximately R220 million in the IEC’s total budget; 22 local councils; five district councils and 593 unique elections. There are also just under 20 000 ballot boxes; 17 000 voting compartments; 58 000 pens, six tons of stationery; 6 222 banners; just over 4 000 zip-zip scanners; 6 600 templates for braille votes; 3 279 maps of voting districts; 3 200 calculators and 23 warehouses to store voting material in,” she said.
“Our elections exemplify the resilience of our democracy. South Africa was polarised and viewed as a pariah state.
“Despite all these factors, our nation has been able to hold transparent, free and fair elections. A majority of those who vote dictate the direction in which they want South Africa to go in.
“We are pleased with the preparations and thank suppliers, civil society organisations, members of the public who participated in our different programmes, political parties, all the different spheres of government, the media and unions as well as business organisations for making the election process possible,” she added.
“The slogan ‘Your future is in your hands’, has worked to galvanise parties, their supporters and voters. We believe that, across the length and breadth of this nation, people inherently love and have a strong connection to this country.
“And it is our job to remind them of this. Why? Because if you love something you want the best for it; and if you want the best for something you will play an active role in ensuring it gets the best; and that means voting and participating in your country’s democratic development; that is how you show you care, how you show you love your community and how you love and commit to your country.
“So, we urge all South Africans to play an active part in defining the future of your country by voting in tomorrow’s election,” said Mateta.
Brig Sebola said they are ready for anything and will not compromise their responsibilities as enshrined in Section 205 of the Constitution.
“People should feel free to go out and vote. We will be there to protect you. It is our job to ensure no one disturbs the election process,” said Sebola.
The Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, David van Rooyen said parties should adhere to the IEC’s Code of Conduct with regard to their campaigns.
