Staff Reporter.
The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) says it is ready for this weekend’s voter registration drive as it opens up more than 23 000 stations across the country.
At a press briefing on Thursday, IEC chief executive Sy Mamabolo said new voter management devices (VMDs) would be used for the first time on a mass scale during this registration weekend.
“The VMDs represent a departure from the erstwhile ‘Zip-Zip’ machines, which have been in use in the registration process since 1998. The VMDs will essentially operate in online mode in most parts of the country.
“In parts of the country, where internet connection is not strong or reliable, the VMDs have been provisioned to operate in offline mode. In offline mode, devices will be able to record transactions and perform verification, based on data stored locally on each device.
“As soon as the VMD gets in to an area of signal, it will automatically and, without prompting, upload the transactions stored to the memory of the device,” Mamabolo said.
Mamabolo said the VMDs would enable an almost “instantaneous citizenship verification” as well as the correct capturing of a residential address, assisted by a mapping functionality.
“Registration applications have been loaded, and at least one VMD has been allocated to each voting station on the logistics information system.
“The VMDs will consolidate and integrate business processes, which were hitherto separated and thus inefficient. A total of 40 000 have been procured and will be in use during both the registration and election processes,” he said.
So far, 156 651 voters had successfully used the IEC’s online portal, launched in July, to register.
All you need is your ID book or card, a mask and to adhere to all other COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions to register for the polls.
Mamabolo said that a total of 48,899 officials would be ready to process registrations.
While the physical stations will open on Saturday and Sunday only between 8am and 5pm, online registrations will remain open until Monday when the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister will proclaim the election date.
Mamabolo said they had written to Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to request that President Cyril Ramaphosa declare election day a public holiday.