Durban — Voter registration will be held this weekend for three municipal ward by-elections.
The elections will be held in one KwaZulu-Natal ward and two Western Cape wards.
The elections will be contested on October 12, 2022.
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) spokesperson Kate Bapela said that voting stations in the three wards would be open this Saturday, August 27, 2022, and Sunday, August 28, 2022, from 8am to 5pm to allow all eligible voters to register and for current voters to check their registration details and to provide/update address details where necessary.
Bapela said that voters should take their identity document (ID) with them – either a green bar-coded ID book, a smart-card ID or a valid temporary ID certificate. They will also need to complete their physical home address on registration or provide sufficient particularities of their place of residence. Documented proof of address (e.g. a municipal account) is not required.
She said that voters should also check and update their details at their local (municipal) IEC office on weekdays during office hours.
“Voters are reminded that it is a criminal offence to register and vote in a ward in which they are not ordinarily resident,” Bapela said.
In KZN, ward 11 in the uMuziwabantu Local Municipality KZN214, with 3 443 registered voters, “became vacant as a result of the councillor’s resignation”, said Bapela.
Registration and voting will take place at the following stations:
In the WC, ward 5 in the City of Cape Town, with 23 415 registered voters, became vacant as a result of the councillor’s resignation.
Registration and voting will take place at the following stations:
Also in the WC, ward 5 in Cederberg, with 4 056 registered voters, became vacant due to the councillor’s membership being terminated from the party.
Registration and voting will take place at the following stations:
“Special voting will take place at voting stations as well as through home visits on October 11, 2022, between 8am and 5pm. Voters wishing to apply to cast a special vote can apply at their local IEC office during office hours between September 26 and September 30, 2022,” Bapela said.
She said that applications for special votes could also be made online via the IEC’s website, www.elections.org.za. Once voters have applied online, they will receive an SMS notifying them of the outcome when their application has been processed.
They can also check the status of their special vote application online at www.elections.org.za.
Voters can also apply for special votes via cellphone by SMSing their identity number to 32249 (charged at R1). The SMS application facility is only available for those applying to cast a special vote at their voting station and NOT for home visits.
Bapela added that for more information on these by-elections, contact your local (municipal) IEC office on weekdays during office hours. Contact details for all IEC offices are available on the IEC website at www.elections.org.za under Contact Us.
Bapela added that although South Africa no longer has Covid-19 restrictions in place, the Electoral Commission will continue to provide the following to safeguard voters and electoral staff:
- Face masks for voluntary use by electoral staff
- Hand sanitisers at voting stations and home visits
- Disposable wipes for sanitisation of pens and voting station surfaces
- Indelible ink is dispensed from bottles using a single-use disposable cotton bud.
- Voters are no longer required to wear masks or face coverings within a voting station, although they may continue to do so at their discretion. Similarly, voters are no longer required to sanitise their hands on entry to voting stations but may do so if they wish.
Daily News