Concourt to provide clarity on voter confusion

ZULULANDERS with incorrect or missing details on the voters’ roll, will have to wait until 9 May to determine whether they will in fact be allowed to cast their ballot during the local government elections in August.

IEC uThungulu Regional Supervisor Stella Dlamini on Wednesday was unable to verify whether incorrect voter details would impact one’s right to vote on 3 August, saying the decision was dependent on next month’s Constitutional Court ruling.

In February, the IEC announced that it would approach the ConCourt to appeal an Electoral Court ruling that forced the postponement of by-elections in four provinces.

This after the Electoral Court ordered that by-elections in Tlokwe in the North West province could not go ahead after independent candidates approached the court at the last minute, seeking a postponement on the basis that more than 4 000 voters’ addresses were missing from the voters’ roll.

Similar problems emerged during the weekend’s registration drive as voters were shocked to find missing or incorrect physical addresses when verifying their details.

Complaints

In Ward 2 in Richards Bay, uMhlathuze City Councillor Beena Simmadhri said she fielded many complaints from residents who lived in the same area for years and had voted in previous elections, but now had incorrect or missing physical addresses.

‘We are going to call for another voter registration weekend. The IEC did not stress the fact that it was compulsory for everyone to check their details. What happened to the information that the IEC had? Those who did not check their details can possibly be turned away at the polls,’ Simmadhri said.

‘The IEC had embarked on a project to recapture addresses,’ said Dlamini.

‘It could be that some registration forms were not captured correctly. We have since contracted a company to verify the information.’

Commenting on preliminary registration figures after the final voter registration, Dlamini said the IEC was pleased with the turnout, citing an increase in the number of people registering.

She urged those who had concerns about their addresses on the voters roll to register and check their details at local IEC offices located at municipalities throughout the district.

Voters can do so until the official proclamation of the local government elections.

Preliminary voter registration figures

uMfolozi Municipality – 12 439

uMhlathuze Municipality – 25 686

uMlalazi Municipality – 16 336

Mthonjaneni Municipality – 6 808

Nkandla Municipality – 9 465

IN A BOX

IEC offices in the uThungulu District

uMfolozi Municipality – 035 5801420

uMhlathuze Municipality – 035 9075416

uMlalazi office (11 Mangosuthu Drive, eShowe) – 035 474 5882

Mthonjaneni Municipality – 035 4507840

Nkandla Municipality – 035 8330743

IEC offices are open from 8am – 5pm