The IEC appeared before Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee to discuss its annual performance plan and budget for 2021/2022.
South Africans will vote in local government elections in October. Mamabolo says online voter registration would be a valuable tool in efforts to be COVID-19 compliant.
“Online registration is important in COVID-19 context. It will allow, with necessary safeguards, to ensure those with smart devices and broadband can register without being in queues. We plan to have that capability available by, let’s say, the middle of June.”
COVID-19 measures compliance
Mamabolo says the commission is considering which measures to put in place to ensure that all voting stations are COVID-19 compliant.
He says the measures will supplement social distancing, mask-wearing and sanitising.
“What we are now looking at (are) additional measures proposed, which relate to how (to) use special votes to creatively manage congestion at voting stations, people at a certain age receiving special votes and people with certain commodities being granted the special vote, and so on.”