Voter registration in Zululand
uMfolozi – 74 688 voters
uMhlathuze – 198 944 voters
uMlalazi – 108 903 voters
Mthonjaneni – 45 665 voters
Nkandla – 58 187 voters
Opening hours for election day: 7am to 9pm
ALSO READ: What you need to know about the electoral code of conduct
Security procedures
The responsibilities the South African Police Service (SAPS) at the respective voting stations includes:
* Ensuring that the voting station is safe to open.
* Maintaining law and order by assisting the presiding officer within and around the voting station boundary.
* Preventing firearms and dangerous weapons entering the boundary of the voting station.
* At the instruction of the presiding officer, remove any people behaving undesirably at the voting station, and ensuring they do not re-enter the voting station.
* Escorting the presiding officer to collect and deliver ballot boxes and other election material before and after special voting, and on voting day.
* Monitoring the voting station boundary to ensure no political party activity takes place.
* Ensuring only authorised people enter the voting station boundary.
ALSO READ: Facts about the election process
SAPS will also monitor prohibited conduct related to Chapter 7 of the Electoral Act, 73 of 1998 relating to undue influence, impersonation, intentional false statements, infringement of secrecy, unacceptable conduct with regard to voting election material, and defacing and vandalising placards and billboards.
The South African Police Service will ensure the safety of all Zululand citizens who go out to vote on Wednesday, 8 May.
Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose, spokesman for Empangeni SAPS, said the police have a security plan in place with members being deployed to every cluster on the day of the election.
‘Police will be deployed to the voting stations prior to election day and will remain there until the collection of the ballot boxes,’ said Mdlalose.
‘If there is a need for additional manpower, more police members will be deployed. We are more than ready for the elections and there will be no trouble on the day.’
How to vote if you’re away from your voting station on election day?
Those who applied for special votes between 4 and 18 April can vote on 6 and 7 May. Section 24A of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998 allows for all registered voters to vote anywhere they are on election day.
If you are within your province, you get two ballot papers, but if you are outside your province, you get one ballot paper.
How do prisoners vote?
Prisoners are entitled to vote in accordance with section 24B of the Electoral Act.
Prisoners vote on 8 May and not on special voting days. A prisoner who is registered in another voting district is deemed to be registered to vote in the district in which the prison is located for the purpose of the national and provincial elections.
A team of voting officials attached to the applicable voting district in which the prison is located, will be dispatched to the prison on voting day to administer the process. Marked ballots will be placed in sealed ballot boxes that are transported to the prison.
To be eligible to vote, a prisoner needs to be registered to vote, and present their identity documents.
The officials will not count the marked ballot papers at the prison, but will return to the voting station and those votes will be counted together with the other ballot papers cast at the voting station.
Special votes abroad
The number of South Africa citizens residing abroad and who registered to vote, increased to 29 334 from 26 716 in 2014.
They cast their votes in their country of residence last Saturday (27 April).
Breakdown of voters abroad by continent
Africa: 2 868
Asia: 7 174
Europe: 14 838
North America: 2 196
Oceania: 2 133
South America: 125
Total: 29 334
Top 10 foreign missions with the most applications
London: 9 084
Dubai: 1 542
The Hague: 1 355
Canberra: 1 195
Abu Dhabi: 1 061
Wellington: 927
Dublin: 817
Kinshasa: 797
New York: 605
Doha: 566
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