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The President has spoken, and South Africa’s election date is 29 May. But this year works a bit differently, as voters will have to mark their crosses on thee ballot papers, rather than two as was done in the past.
In a press release, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) explains how to navigate this.
“In previous elections, there were only two ballots – a national ballot for the National Assembly (Parliament) and a provincial ballot for the provincial legislature of a province,” the press release stated.
Now, the third ballot will be for the regional seats reserved for each of the regions in the National Assembly.
“Because a region refers to the same territorial area as a province, the terms ‘regional’ and ‘provincial’ are simply to distinguish between the seats reserved for that region in Parliament (regional seats) and seats in the provincial legislatures of that province (provincial seats).
In the Western Cape, voters will receive at their voting stations:
- A national ballot – this ballot is the same for the whole country where you vote for a political party only.
- A Western Cape regional ballot – this a vote for an independent or party to fill the regional seats reserved in Parliament for the Western Cape.
- A Western Cape provincial ballot – this is a vote for an independent or party for the Western Cape provincial legislature.
“The change has come as a result of the electoral amendment act that provides for the inclusion of independent candidates to run for office as a member of parliament in the national assembly.
So, the 400 seats in the National Assembly are filled as follows:
- A total of 200 are reserved for the regional seats. Each province gets a number of regional seats based on the number of voters in that province. Independents and parties contest for these seats.
- The remaining 200 seats in the National Assembly are filled by lists of political parties only, as independents are already catered for on the regional ballot(s).
South African citizens who have not yet registered, or who have not yet updated registration details such as change of address, have until 23 February to do so on the online voter portal at www.elections.org.za or at IEC offices during office hours.
This is when the election date will appear in the Government Gazette, signalling closure of the voters’ roll for these elections.
To check your registration status you can also:
- Send your ID number to 31820 at a cost of R1 per SMS;
- Use the IEC Whatsapp chatbot at 0600 88 0000;
- Contact the call centre during office hours at 0800 11 8000.
