Time is running out for those who have yet to cast their vote in South Africa’s National and Provincial Elections today.
At 9pm, voting stations will close their doors and those still in the queues will be allowed to cast their votes, signifying the end of Election Day of the 2024 General Election.
To date, special votes have been cast, and those living abroad have also been able to make their mark.
While the journey has been a long one for all those who have participated in the democratic process so far, the work of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is not yet over.
Overseas special votes
Those living abroad cast their votes on 17 and 18 May in some 111 South African missions across the world.
Moreover, the IEC confirmed that special voting, which was conducted on Monday and Tuesday this week, generally proceeded smoothly.
“The commission confirms that overall, special voting abroad proceeded smoothly with no major incidents. This is a testament to the meticulous logistics, planning and execution of those plans across all missions.
“All ballots cast, as well as unused ballot papers from all the 111 missions, will now be transported via a secure channel back to the country. The necessary verifications and counting of the ballots will take place in the presence of representatives of contestants and observers,” the IEC said in a statement at the conclusion of voting abroad.
Special votes on home soil
According to the IEC, by Tuesday, 28 May, at least 937 000 of the 1.6 million people approved for special votes had made their mark.
Speaking to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Radio unit in April, IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, said these votes would be kept secure until Wednesday, 29 May.
“... There are seals… where all the votes are locked in. They are taken to a safe place and on the day of the elections. Those special votes will be reconciled with the voters' roll at the station before counting commences,” Mamabolo said in the interview.
Election Day
Mamabolo also explained the voting process for those who were still to make their X at the more than 23 000 voting stations across the country.
“Once you enter the voting station, the most important thing to have is your identity document. It could either be the green barcoded ID, it could be a smart card [or] a Temporary Identity Certificate.
“You will [then] go to the voters’ roll officer, who will scan your ID on the voting machine, the VMD [voter management devices] and then the VMD will confirm that you are registered at that station and confirm your sequential number on the voters’ roll.
“You [then] go to the inker… who will then ink your left thumb with indelible ink. You go to the ballot paper issuer… [who] then will issue you with three ballot papers. Once you leave there…you go into the voting booth where you have to be alone, and mark you ballots in secret.
“Once you’ve finished marking your three ballots in secret, you deposit those ballots into the ballot boxes and the voting process is complete,” he said.
Results process
As for election results, Mamabolo was coy to give a definitive answer on when those will be released.
“In law, we have seven days within which to announce the results but in the past, we’ve been able to announce the results within three days.
“Now on this occasion, because of the increased number of ballot papers, it may be difficult to do it within three days. But it would not take more than four days to get the results out. We won’t take the whole seven days that we have in law. So, either Saturday during the evening or Sunday during the day,” Mamabolo said.
Following the announcement of the results, a proclamation of the results and seat allocation are expected next week. – SAnews.gov.za
