By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is hosting the E-voting conference in Cape Town to introduce electronic voting in the country.
IEC Chief Executive Officer, Sy Mamabolo, has underscored the need for a responsible and inclusive approach to adopting new voting technologies.
Mamabolo was delivering remarks at the e-Voting Conference in Cape Town on Monday.
The IEC is hosting a groundbreaking national dialogue on the future of voting in South Africa from 10 – 12 March 2025, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
This three-day conference will launch South Africa’s first Green Paper on e-Voting, bringing together voices from across society to shape how South Africans might vote in future elections.
“We cannot be oblivious to the ever-present force that drives innovation and exposes us to new possibilities,” Mamabolo said.
The conference, which seeks to shape public policy on e-voting, comes at a time when South Africa is undergoing a digital transformation across various sectors. The Vision 2030 roadmap of South Africa emphasises incorporating technology into business, education and governance.
The country’s burgeoning digital ecosystem is distinguished by developments in technology infrastructure driven by public and private sector partnerships.
Mamabolo said the rapid growth of data analytics, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure has transformed how most industries do business today and how ordinary folk converse.
He highlighted that countries such as Estonia, Switzerland, Brazil and India have implemented or tested e-voting systems, while others have paused or abandoned such initiatives due to concerns related to security, costs and reliability.
In Africa, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have explored e-voting, but challenges have hindered widespread implementation.
Mamabolo noted that some of the common delays or factors halting the implementation of e-voting in many countries are largely related to security concerns and affordability.
As a result, many countries have focused on digitalising aspects of the voting process (such as registration or information access) rather than implementing full-scale electronic voting systems and related technologies for their elections.
“As much as the prospects for experimenting with e-voting systems and technologies can be exciting, we must also approach it with open minds and a sense of responsibility.
“At the forefront of these challenges are questions of security and trust. We remain committed to our mandate to deliver uncompromised elections with utmost integrity, impartiality and accountability,” he said.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has said that digital transformation requires more than just tehnology, noting that by the time of the next national and provincial elections in 2029, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) wants to have a fully functional digital Identity Document (ID) system.
He said there was no point in digitalising a process if it was just “as slow, inefficient and insecure” as the manual, paper-based process that preceded it.
“Digital transformation requires a deep re-examination of all existing processes to ensure that the introduction of technology becomes a catalyst that transforms the process itself. There is only one way to do this, and that is by keeping in mind the end-user, “he explained.
He said the digital transformation of government was a means to deliver better services, to enhance security and to ensure that the user of the service walked away satisfied.
“In the case of the IEC, this means that the goal of digital transformation should be to ensure that queues get shorter, not longer, on voting day. That citizens should have higher trust, not less trust, in the integrity of election outcomes. That security should be stronger, not weaker. And that the effeciency of any electronic system should be better, not worse, than under the existing paper-based system,” he explained.
He noted that the goal for the total digital transformation of the Home Affairs ecosystem was not principally about technology, but rather about people, improving the quality, security and effeciency of products, as experienced by the people who used the services every day.
“…nowhere is this perspective more important, than in the case of elections. South Africa has a proud track record of conducting elections with integrity, which is a testament to the work of the IEC,” Schreiber stated.
He said declining voter turnout and increasing radicalism, including from those who sought to question the outcome of legitimate elections, were warning signs that South Africa must do more to enhance public trust in democracy.
“Ultimately, it must be the goal of reform – digital or otherwise – to deliver a better experience to the end-user if we are to protect the credibility and legitimacy of our elections,” he added.
He announced that the work of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel continued, noting that once that process was concluded, he would table recommendations to Parliament that may result in further reforms aimed at bolstering the accountability of the country’s electoral system.
He said that IEC systems would need to be updated to interact with new DHA solutions, such as the digital ID and the verifiable credential.
“It is therefore important that, at a technical level, the IEC participates in the process of developing these new systems to ensure full interoperability,” he explained.