Pretoria - The country’s 22 263 voting stations will open on schedule at 7am on Wednesday in anticipation of 25.39 million voters, who have registered to vote, says IEC Chairperson Advocate Pansy Tlakula.
“You can now report to the people of South Africa and registered voters that we are ready to deliver yet another free and fair election, and we will do so efficiently,” she told reporters on Monday.
She was briefing reporters at the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) first press conference for the 2014 General Elections at the Results Operations Centre in Pretoria.
“We are ready to make them proud again and follow in the glorious tradition of twenty years of democracy, it is now up to the voters to make their choice, and we are appeal to all voters to respect the rights of others to choose a political party of their choice.
“We appeal to political parties to respect our process and to work with our officials and security to ensure peaceful and smooth elections.”
Sending a special message to voters, Tlakula said: “Our future as a country is in your hands, this is your country, this is your moment, vote and vote wisely”.
Voting stations
She said a total of 20 736 voting stations are permanent venues, while 1 495 voting stations are located at temporary venues where tents will normally be required.
Tlakula said 14 458 voting stations are located in schools, 1 591 are located in places of worship, 255 at tribal authority sites, while a further 77 are located in clinics and hospitals.
There are also 32 mobile voting stations, which are in far-flung voting districts, where a vehicle moves between pre-determined stopping points to meet voters.
According to Tlakula, all materials have been distributed to local warehouses including 62 892 200 ballot papers -- 31 411 100 national and 31 491 100 provincial.
She said 211 032 temporary positions have been filled and training done for voting station staff.
“Additionally some 4 563 area managers have been appointed to oversee voting activities within district areas. Along with permanent IEC staff, this brings to approximately 218 000 staff working on the elections,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
