Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs is ready to assist the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) with the upcoming elections in May, it said on Wednesday.
“The department is ready and willing to collaborate with the IEC in support of the elections. We are holding meetings with the IEC to make sure that on that day [7 May] our mobiles [mobile offices] will be deployed in accordance with the cluster of voting stations,” said the department’s deputy director general of civic services, Vusi Mkhize.
Home Affairs will also open in line with the IEC on voting day. Additionally the department is in negotiations with the commission to ensure that its officials that will be working on Election Day be granted to cast special votes.
Cabinet has called on South Africans to be active participants in electioneering, but to do so peacefully and with tolerance for the right of all voters to express their opinions publicly and make their choice privately in the voting booth.
Currently, a total of 25 390 150 voters are on the voters’ roll. This is 2 208 153 more voters (9.5% increase) than during the 2009 general election and 7.2 million (39.72% increase) more than the 1999 elections. - SAnews.gov.za
