Senziwe Dhlomo
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has announced that it is prepared to hold elections in 2024. All political parties have indicated that they are prepared for what is anticipated to be the most competitive election since 1994.
“The Electoral Commission is resolute and gearing up to conduct the 2024 national and provincial elections. We urge all South Africans to use our online portal, register and update their details and participate actively in this pivotal democratic process. We urge citizens to visit voting stations on November 18 and 19. We call upon all stakeholders to stand united with us to deliver the 2024 general elections,” IEC CEO, Mr Mamabolo said on Tuesday.”
Speaking at the national and provincial election (NPE2024) campaign launch at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Gauteng, Mamabolo commented that ;the six National Assembly and the nine Provincial Legislatures would end their mandates of office in mid-May 2024.
He added on to say,at least ninety days after that day must pass before the seventh parliament of the democratic era is elected.
“Those consultations have commenced but are yet to be concluded. A similar framework applies in respect of provincial legislatures, wherein the provincial premiers are entrusted responsibility to call and set a date for elections after consulting with the commission.”
For the earliest date within the constitutional window, plans are already underway to hold the general elections, and President Cyril Ramaphosa has the ability to fix the election date after discussing with the IEC.
In the upcoming elections, which coincide with the 30th anniversary of the nation’s democracy, independent candidates will run for seats in both the national and local legislatures.
November 18 and 19 are scheduled for the first voter registration weekend; alternate dates are being taken into account.
Voting locations for the elections have been assessed to be 23,269 in total. 26.2 million people are currently registered to vote. 14.4 million women and 11.6 million males are registered voters, respectively, in the voter rolls.
“To date more than 1-million transactions have been processed on the online registration portal, of which 439,000 are new registrations”, says the IEC Chief Executive Officer.On the voter roll, 3.7 million individuals are young, between the ages of 20 and 29.
“Just under 68,000 staff have been recruited and are in the final stages of training ahead of the registration weekend. The number of voting staff will increase to approximately 300,000 by the time of the elections,” said Mamabolo.
According to Mamabolo, the commission is in contact with telecom providers ,to investigate the feasibility of zero-rating the online voter registration portal in advance of the election.
