The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said it is ready to embark on a journey of delivering next year’s general and provincial elections.
This as the IEC launched the 2024 National and Provincial Elections (NPE 2024) in Midrand, Gauteng, with the theme, “Your Democracy, Own It.”
“The proclamation of the election date is by our head of state, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa after consultation with the Electoral commission.
Our expectation is that the provincial elections will, as they have for the past 30 years, be harmonised with the national election.
Today, we, the electoral commission, stand before you to confirm that plans to deliver the general elections are underway for the earliest possible election date, in the constitutional window period,” said IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo.
Mamabolo highlighted that the current term of the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures will end in the middle of May 2024, and elections must be held within 90 days after that.
He said they anticipate that the window period for the elections will be from May to August 2024.
According to Mamabolo, 23 269 voting stations have been determined for next year’s elections, and most will be opened during the 18-19 November 2023 registration weekend.
Since launching the online registration portal in 2021, one million voters have registered, of which 439 000 are new registration, while the balance was for re-registration, the majority being the youth in the age category 20-25.
Mamabolo said the voter roll now stands at 26.2 million people, and 95% have a complete address recorded against their name.
“Women have a greater representation on the voter roll at 14.4 million, against men whose representation is 11.6 million.
The age category with the highest representation is 30-39, with 6.6 million voters, followed by 40-49 at 5.8 million and 50-59 at 4.4 million.
Young persons in the age category 20-29 account for 3.7 million voters on the roll,” added Mamabolo.
Due to the expensive data, the IEC is engaging with telecommunications companies to examine possibilities of zero-rating the online portal.
The 2024 NPE will be the first time that independent candidates will be contesting the elections.
The polls will also mark 30 years of electoral democracy.
