Elections 2021: IEC highly satisfied with start of special voting

During a briefing on Saturday afternoon to update members of the media on the progress of the special voting process, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Electoral Commission Sy Mamabolo said that the IEC is highly satisfied with the start of special voting.

This despite several voting stations being unable to open due to destruction caused to tents as a results of the stormy weather in parts of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Nort West on Friday evening.

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He added that 1 174 voting stations received no applications for special votes and that these would remain closed until Monday November 1.

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Mamabolo also took the time to reassure voters that pens will be available at all voting stations throughout the weekend and on Monday, and that these will be santized after every use to prevent the spread of Covid-19. He did, however, encourage voters to take along their own pens when voting if it all possible.

Voting stations opened at 8am on Saturday morning for eligible voters to cast their special vote. A special vote allows a registered voter who cannot travel to their voting station on 1 November to vote earlier because they are either physically infirm, disabled or pregnant, or cannot vote at their voting station on election day due to other reasons.

Applications for special voting closed on October 4 with 1.1 million approved special votes for this election.

Mamabolo said since applications for special voting closed they have been matching human and material resources to enable them to complete the 507 318 home visits and the 602 781 voting station bays for special votes.

The IEC on Friday encouraged voters who succesfully applied to cast their vote at home to stay at their place of residence during the special voting period on October 30 and October 31 from 8am to 5pm, warning that IEC officials will not be making repeat visits should voters not be at home the first time they come knocking on your door.

Speaking to the SABC on late Friday evening Mamabolo explained that two IEC officials will visit voters at home where they will be given the necessary numbers of voting ballots. Voters will be given the opportunity to mark these ballots in secret after which they will put them in an unmarked envelope, and then it will be placed in a bigger envelope wherein your details will be put. “A special bag will be used to deposit those ballots back at the voting stations. They will be reconciled to a voters roll as well as the list of special voters,” he added.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his wife Leah casted their special vote at their residence in Milnerton in Cape Town on Saturday morning.

DA federal chairperson Helen Zille as well as Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will also be casting their special votes on Saturday.

The IEC said that special votes are more important in this year’s elections, given the Covid-19 context, which required the IEC to reduce congestion at voting stations on election day on November 1.