By: Zethu Gweva
To insure that everyone is registering or registered the Independent Electoral Commision (IEC) will open all their stations on the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh of January from 8am to 5pm.
The Provincial Electoral Officer Khayakazi Magudumana said the IEC is conducting awareness campaigns through both print and electronic media as well through the team of 244 Democracy Education Facilitators and 46 Municipal Outreach Coordinators that have been trained and who are conducting sessions with communities throughout the province.
Magudumana said in the Eastern Cape there are 4791 Registration Supervisors, 9582 Registration Officers that will be deployed at all 4791 registration stations throughout the province and 774 Area Managers in addition to the IEC permanent and expansion staff compliment.
“410617 are currently registered in Buffalo City Metro” added Magudumana.
When asked about IEC´s plans for people without identity documents Magudumana explained that the IEC is working hand in hand with the Department of Home Affairs who are opening all their offices this weekend from 08h00 to 17h00.
“People are urged to get their IDs from Home Affairs if they have not collected them or perhaps lost and don’t have a green bar coded IDs, they can also register using a valid temporary identification certificate issued by the Department of Home Affairs” said Magudumana.
As voting is everybody’s right, Magudumana explained that as a commision they operate within the prescripts of the law and in terms of Electoral Act 73 of 1998 and Constitutional Court case CCT03/04. All prisoners, irrespective of the type of sentence imposed or the type of offence committed are entitled to register in order to vote in an election for the National Assembly or Provincial legislature.
She added this includes awaiting trial prisoners who are held in correctional facilities. Persons who are in police cells would not be visited for the purpose of registering.
As registration is about to commence, sixteen year olds are advised to register although they will not vote.
Magudumana said the significance is so that when they turn eighteen, they will be already on the national voters roll and would not need to go and register. Everyone’s vote counts whether they are young or old.
“If the elderly people visit the stations they will be given priority treatment by the staff and for the aged who are unable to visit stations on registration weekend and are able to apply in advance to our local offices in order to be visited at their place of residence” said Magudumana.
Xolani Manzi, 55, said he has been voting since 1994 and throughout the years the government makes promises that they don’t fulfill but he will vote either way because he believes that his vote counts and will stand in those queues to make his voice heard.