Political parties sign IEC’s Code of Conduct ahead of 2024 national polls

The elections are scheduled for Wednesday May 29, and this year marks 30 years since the historic first democratic elections took place in 1994.

In 1994, the National Assembly general election was contested by 19 political parties, which included the African National Congress, the National Party, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, the Freedom Front, the Democratic Party, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Dikwankwetla Party of South Africa and the Sport Organisation for Collective Contributions and Equal Rights.

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Since then, the ballot paper has grown to accommodate over 30 political parties. This time around, there will be three ballot papers.
Mpumalanga currently has 2 023 286 registered voters, compared to the 1.9 million voters in 2021. The province’s regional ballot is made up of 33 political parties plus one independent candidate.

The provincial ballot will have 27 political parties. The Mpumalanga Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), led by its provincial head, one of the province’s celebrated administrators, Gugu Langa, committed that it would run a free and fair electioneering process.

Langa and her staff also made a public promise during the political parties’ Code of Conduct signing ceremony on Friday April 12 at the Emnotweni Arena.

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The IEC’s provincial communication and stakeholder liaison, Chembeni TC Thanduxolo, told Mpumalanga News that the work behind the scenes is continuing smoothly and that they are ready for the big day.

“We are ready for the 2024 national and provincial elections. Currently we are busy with training of election staff throughout the province, which will be completed on May 12. We have secured all voting stations and signed lease agreements. On April 11, we had a ballot paper signing ceremony with political parties and independent candidates, who by so doing were confirming that their details are correct on the ballot paper.

On Friday April 12, we hosted a Code of Conduct signing ceremony, where political parties pledged to abide by the code as per Schedule 2, Section 99 of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998. For the first time, the IEC staff also pledged that they will run the elections as stipulated in the law, in an ethical, unbiased, free and fair manner. In a few days, IEC Mpumalanga will be launching its Results Operation Centre,” he said.

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Voters are urged to be aware that April 15 to May 3 has been set aside for special votes for all those who will be unable to visit their voting stations due to the nature of their work, like those in security services or those serving as officers in the election.