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The Department of Basic Education has released the revised timetable for this year’s matric final exams.
Grade 12 exams start on 27 October 2021 after the initial dates clashed with the local government elections.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma declared that elections would take place on 1 November, which clashed with three other papers: English paper one, business studies paper one and non-official languages paper one.
The changes will now allow eligible pupils and educators and invigilators to cast their ballots.
ALSO READ: Dlamini-Zuma proclaims 1 November as new date for local elections
Addressing the date clash was not only important for first-time voters to be able to cast their ballot but also because many schools act as voting stations.
The local government elections were initially gazetted to be held on 27 October but the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) applied to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) to postpone the polls to February 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the ConCourt dismissed the application, which meant the IEC had to amend its election timetable.
The court then ordered the IEC to hold the municipal elections between 27 October and 1 November.
Voter registration weekend is scheduled for the upcoming weekend: 18-19 September.
ALSO READ: Matric finals to start earlier due to local elections date clash
Those eligible to cast their votes must apply at their nearest IEC office in person. No online or email registrations are allowed. Applicants must take either their:
Only original (not copies) documents are accepted.
Voters will have to fill out a registration form before their ID books/cards are scanned. The IEC then issues a barcoded sticker – but this does not automatically add you to the voters roll. The process can take up to a week to finalise.
NOW READ: IEC announces one-off voter registration weekend ahead of polls
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