Readiness for 2024 elections: WC IEC briefing

Meeting report

Western Cape IEC on preparations for 2024 national and provincial elections

Mr Michael Hendrickse, Provincial Electoral Officer, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Western Cape, described the Commission's preparations for the 2024 national and provincial elections.

He said the Electoral Amendment Bill had been adopted by the national Parliament within an extended timeline, as set by the Constitutional Court, and the IEC was waiting for finalisation of legislation to regulate candidate information. The delay in finalisation of the legislation would further delay the preparation and delivery of the 2024 national and provincial elections (NPE) and the associated timelines.

As part of the IEC's outreach programme in 2022/23, 5 543 civic and democracy education events were conducted, and it intends to double this number in the coming year. It supported the schools' democracy programme by visiting about 200 schools in each of the past two years. Besides voter registration and voter education, during breaks or life orientation sessions, it also assisted with Representative Council of Learners (RCL) elections in schools. It continuously engaged with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).

In March, it launched its Western Cape tertiary institution campaign at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville campus. It would engage with universities and technical and vocational education and Training (TVET) colleges. There would be a thought leadership seminar on youth participation, and stakeholder engagements with party liaison committees (PLCs), NGOs and community-based organisations, the media and community radio, and sector-specific engagements.

Turning to delimitation aspects, Mr Hendrickse said the IEC had completed its review of voting districts, and boundary maps of voting districts had been signed off by the Municipal Party Liaison Committees (MPLCs). The 1 573 proposed voting districts in the year 2023, which included 67 boundary changes and nine new and 13 deletions, had been submitted to the national office. Voting sites had been identified in all voting districts, and targeted communication registration was conducted in affected districts.

He said registration activity between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023 had seen 66 418 registration activities, with 34 923 new registrations. Online registration resulted in 24 770 registration activities, with 12 713 new registrations. The Commission would hold two registration weekends before the 2024 elections.

Mr Hendrickse provided details of the IEC's staff recruitment activities, and the vetting and training of staff. The procurement of bulk material for registration was underway, such as the paper for ballots, which would need to take into account the impact of the number of contestants. Other logistical issues being dealt with by the Commission included the identification of local storage facilities, and voter management devices.

Challenges faced by election management bodies (EMBs) included:

• Delayed finalisation of the legislative scheme for the NPE;
• The impact of load shedding;
• Breaches of the Code of Conduct by parties, members and supporters;
• The impact of municipal by-elections; and
• Errors by voters during online voter registration.

See attached for full presentation

Discussion

Mr G Pretorious (DA) asked questions about the three ballots -- other than the provincial legislature, and the NA, what was the third? What had been the response to the schools' democracy programme, and was there an indication of learners actually registering as opposed to attending? Regarding the review completion in the delimitation, was that the final review completed in relation to the 2024 elections? What would the shortest period be between the legislation being approved and the elections being held, that would enable election readiness?

Mr C Dugmore (ANC) referred to the context of the Democratic Alliance's objection to the allegations around the manipulation of special votes in the Cederberg by-election, which had been discussed and indicated by the IEC not to have materially impacted on the outcome, and therefore had not entertained the actual objection.

Would it be necessary for parties to use the prior legislation to try and get, for example, the application of a party for special votes? Would the IEC cooperate with requests for information?

What was the process of the IEC when applications for special votes were received? Did there need to be a motivation from those applying for special votes for people away from the area, or would they need to specifically provide information on disability, therefore requesting a home visit?

What was the IEC in the Western Cape doing about working with the Department of Labour, organised agriculture and political parties, to ensure access to farms for voting? He mentioned the fact that the gates to some voting stations would be closed before the closing of the voting station, and that this undermined the right to democratic expression through voting. What steps were the IEC taking to ensure that every person had the right to register and vote?

Did the IEC have a policy to allocate additional resources to voting stations with poor infrastructure to ensure voters were not discouraged from voting?

What was the process for objecting to positions that had been advertised and were proposed to be filled?

Could the IEC investigate the conduct of members of a political party for breaches in the Code of Conduct relating to the Cederberg by-election?

IEC's response

Mr Hendrickse clarified that 200 seats in the National Assembly were reserved for the compensatory list, and that 200 seats were reserved for the regions. He explained that each region had a set number of seats allocated to it in the National Assembly based on the number of voters, and said that the third ballot was the provincial ballot.

Schools were said to have responded well to the engagement with the IEC, where 4 100 young people had been reached in 2020/21, and 8 400 reached in 2021/22. He identified constant engagement as a challenge, and said work was being done with the Department of Education to incorporate it into the life orientation subject at schools. Other challenges were understanding why young people were disengaging, and how to encourage young people to vote.

There had been engagement over the consultation process with PLCs, but a window period could not be provided regarding the legislation finalisation and election date. The quality and experience of the election by the voter would have to be considered.

Mr Hendrickse answered that the objection made by the DA regarding Cederberg had been considered, and parties could go through the legislative scheme to request information.

The process for special votes did not require additional motivation from voters in the form of medical certificates, etc. He explained that a home visit occurred when a voter could not go physically to a voting station due to a medical condition or disability. A special vote was explained to be if a voter could not get to a voting station on a particular day, for example, and needed to vote the day before. Additional proof was not requested from voters to not add an additional burden to the voting process, and discourage voters from voting.

The IEC acknowledged the need to engage with agricultural organisations to ensure access to voting on farms, and properties in general. Where it was felt that access was unreasonably denied to voters, parties were encouraged to lay a charge at police stations, as it would be a criminal offence.

He explained that where there were breaches of the Code of Conduct and offences, the Electoral Court was clear that the IEC did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate these matters, or to impose any sanctions.

Mr Hendrickse supported the view of Mr Dugmore on infrastructure improvements to voting stations. He said that 35 of 1 577 voting stations in the last election had been temporary structures in the form of tents set up in some areas. Service providers and municipalities would need to be worked with to get assistance to provide better infrastructure for voting stations.

Objections to the appointment of officers would need to be raised in writing at local PLC meetings prior to the deployment of people to voting or registration stations.

Regarding the Code of Conduct breach, he encouraged Mr Dugmore to approach the Electoral Court to ensure an investigation was carried out.

Mr Dugmore thanked Mr Hendrickse for his responses, and said it would be a good idea for someone from the IEC to brief the Committee again. He mentioned a scenario where a party member had been charged with a sexual assault offence, and the party had informed the relevant authorities of the changed list but had not received a response. What was the role of the IEC in this situation?

Mr Hendrickse explained that in cases of internal or intra-party disputes, the Electoral Commission Act had been amended to ensure that the Electoral Court had jurisdiction to deal with intra-party disputes. The view upheld by the Electoral Court was for it to work with whoever was the registered leader of the party. In the event of a change, the party would need to challenge this at the Electoral Court, where evidence could be presented.

Regarding vacancies in local councils, the Structures Act stated that the Municipal Manager was responsible for informing the IEC of a vacancy. In the event that this was not done, in 14 days, the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) could inform the IEC of a vacancy, which triggered the responsibility of the IEC. The IEC did not deal with the causes of vacancies, but rather with filling a vacancy.

The Chairperson thanked Mr Hendrickse for the IEC's engagement and said that once the legislation was signed, he should return to the Committee for further engagement.

Mr Hendrickse thanked the Committee, and said he looked forward to the next engagement.

Committee matters

The Committee meeting minutes held on 15 March were considered and adopted.

On the outstanding resolutions and actions, the Chairperson informed the Committee that the Procedural Officer had disseminated information regarding the copy of the Employment Equity Plan that had been requested, a report on the availability of public Wi-Fi, a cost breakdown of each project relating to the R85 million energy allocation, and the list of public libraries that were not connected to the Western Cape Government's broadband network.

To address Mr Dugmore's point on the Environmental Commissioner, the Chairperson said the Procedural Office had advised him that the Department was being called in to inform what the status was regarding the environmental legislation and plans.

He said that at the World Water Day Indaba held on 22 March, the Western Cape government department had unveiled a 15-year integrated drought and water response plan. He had engaged the Minister of Local Government in the Environment Affairs and Development Planning Office to explain the plan and how it would be managed from his office.

Mr G Bosman (DA) echoed Mr Dugmore's stance, and stated that he too would like the national Minister of Environmental Affairs to brief the Committee on the national department's response to what the Western Cape government was doing, and share her thoughts on the need for an environmental commissioner.

The meeting was adjourned.