By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says 14 889 candidates will contest for 887 seats in the upcoming May 29 elections.
The commission says following the finalisation of the candidate lists, it was now ready to proceed with the printing of ballot papers.
During a media briefing on Tuesday, chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the finalisation of the list of candidates means the commission can proceed with printing the ballot papers.
“The analysis of candidates indicates that the majority, 58.14 percent, are males, with females comprising 41.86 percent. With most candidates falling between the ages of 40 and 49, there are 15 candidates aged 18, marking them as first-time voters,” said Mamabolo.
The IEC had more than 95% of logistical supplies for election day and was in the process of distributing 1,873 tonnes of material between its warehousing and storage facilities across the country.
However, according to IEC deputy CEO of electoral matters Masego Sheburi, challenges to the candidate list on which the Electoral Court has yet to deliver judgment means the IEC must hold off on printing the ballot papers.
Of the 11 cases brought by parties excluded from contesting the election, six judgments had been reserved, while five had been dismissed by the court on Monday.
Sheburi said the commission anticipates it will have an order from the court on Wednesday this week (17 April), which will determine when the IEC will print the ballot papers. According to the official election timetable the cut-off date for the final list of candidates was Wednesday, 10 April.
“Some of the matters yet to be determined implicate the configuration of contestants on the various ballot papers… The majority of requirements we have at hand, the only thing withstanding are related to ballot papers.”
Last week, the IEC lodged an urgent and direct appeal to the Constitutional Court against the Electoral Court’s order which set aside the commission’s decision to remove former president Jacob Zuma from the candidates list following an appeal by the uMkhonto Wesizwe party.
Though the Electoral Court has yet to provide reasons that the IEC decision was set aside, Mamabolo said it had no bearing on its ConCourt appeal.
‘When an appeal is lodged, it is lodged against the orders of the court, not against the judgment, and we have orders in this case and on the basis of those orders we think that there is a need for clarity on a number of issues,” he said.
According to Mamabolo, the IEC is seeking clarity on the following:
- Whether the commission went beyond its scope of authority in invoking section 47;1(a) when it excluded Zuma from the candidate list;
- Whether commissioner Janet Love pre-judged the issue of Zuma’s eligibility to contest the election when answering a question from the media, and whether she should have recused herself; an
- Whether the remission of a prison sentence amounts to the remission amount of the reduction of a sentence as ordered by a court of law.
“Those questions have to be answered for the clarity of everybody in respect of the immediate case but also in respect of future elections,” Mamabolo said.
For the first time, voters will be confronted with three ballot papers on 29 May.
Mamabolo explained how the papers were designed and how they should be used on election day.
The first paper, the national ballot, is for the political parties vying for 200 seats in the National Assembly. There are 52 parties that will appear in two columns
The regional or province-to-national ballot features political and independent candidates contesting for the seats reserved for each province in the National Assembly.
The provincial ballot is unique to each province and includes parties and independent candidates competing for seats in each provincial legislature. Voters will be able to choose either a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in the legislatures. The number of contestants range from 24 to 45 on this ballot.
The Commission has urged voters to carefully review and mark each of these three ballot papers before depositing them into the ballot box.
“Our appeal to voters is to remember that they can only put one mark on each ballot, more than one mark will result in a spoiled ballot and will not [count]. The Universal Ballot Template (UBT), whose dimensions are benchmarked against the longest ballot paper, is in production and will be available in all voting stations.
“The UBT can be used by blind and partially sighted people, low-vision users, people who are dyslexic, and people with motor and neuron conditions which do not allow for a steady hand,” Mamabolo said.