Ralph Staniforth spoke with the IEC’s Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, as we begin to count down the days to the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.
Sy Mamabolo is the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa.
Appointed to the position in October 2017, Mamabolo possesses extensive experience in electoral administration spanning over two decades, and is a veteran of ten general elections since the advent of South Africa’s democracy.
Before moving into his current role, Mamabolo served as the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer of Electoral Operations between 2012 and 2017, during which time he ran the overall operations for the 2014 National and Provincial Elections and the 2016 Municipal Elections. Mamabolo also spearheaded the legislative amendments in Parliament for the last four General Elections.
In a bid to find out more about the preparations, changes, and support needed for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections, BBQ sat down with Mamabolo for an in-depth chat.
Preparing for the 2024 elections
The IEC requires between 18 and 24 months to prepare for an election. As of August 2023, Mamabolo says that the IEC is making good progress in ensuring that when the 2024 elections roll around, they will be ready to hold them.
Mamabolo explains: “Overall, we are quite comfortable that we are on the right side of the curve in terms of the planning processes for 2024. The timeframe of 18 to 24 months puts us less than a year away from the election and our plans are taking shape.” A very important aspect in the build up to the elections is the voter registration weekend. The IEC has announced that the first voter registration weekend will take place on 18 and 19 November 2023. This event will see all 23 000 voting stations across the length and breadth of the country opened up for voters to register.
The reason for this mammoth undertaking is to ensure that a facility for registration is made available in each community, meaning that nobody will have to travel significant distances in order to vindicate their right to be on the voters’ roll. “In a sense, a voter registration weekend, in comparison with other modalities of registration, is an equaliser of opportunity because everybody is placed in the same position. You wake up, walk or drive to your voting station, and register,” Mamabolo says.
A second voter registration weekend will follow in early 2024, but as of now, there is no date set. This will become clearer once President Cyril Ramaphosa officially announces the date for the 2024 elections.
“The Commission wants the second registration weekend to be scheduled as close as possible to the date of the elections. This is because our registration yield tends to be higher when people can smell and feel an election in the air,” Mamabolo adds. Another option for voters is to register online.
The online registration portal was launched in 2021 to create an additional modality of registration given the COVID-19 pandemic regulations that were in place at the time. Some 750 000 voters used the online portal to register since inception; a number which Mamabolo is hoping to build upon for the 2024 elections.
“My sense is that we could do a bit more to ensure that the online portal is popularised and made known so that its usage can be expanded exponentially. The good thing about the online facility is that it is available to citizens 24/7 and at their leisure. It is not dependent on the establishment of facilities; it is a facility that exists within the digital ecosystem and therefore one that facilitates access,” Mamabolo avers.
“But, of course, our research tells us that young people are saying it has to be data free and it is a matter that we are seized with in consultation with tech companies as well as the telecoms. We need to see if we can reach some understanding regarding zero rating access to the voter registration portal.”
In terms of South African citizens abroad who wish to vote, Mamabolo says that a voter registration weekend will be made available at various diplomatic missions including consulates, while the online portal will also be accessible.
“Before the end of the year, a voter registration weekend will happen for citizens abroad, while they too will have access to the voter portal. London in the United Kingdom always has the highest concentration of citizens wishing to vote, followed by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and The Hague in the Netherlands. On average, between 20 000 and 22 000 people vote from missions abroad,” Mamabolo adds.
Electoral Amendment Act 1 of 2023
In April this year, the Electoral Amendment Act 1 of 2023 was signed into law by President Ramaphosa. The Act is an amendment of South Africa’s Electoral Act of 1998 and now includes provision for independent candidates to contest provincial and national elections. A Constitutional Court judgement made in June 2020 forms the basis for the amendment–the provision for independent candidates to contest elections–in some quarters the Act appears to have set extremely high barriers to entry for the said independent candidates and unrepresented parties. Two civil society organisations are challenging some aspects of the revised electoral system.
The big question now is: What does this all mean for the general election slated for 2024 and has it affected the IEC’s planning process?
Mamabolo reveals: “On the ICT side, our candidate nomination system, which is an internally-coded business application, has had to be extensively revised to accommodate independent candidates. Similarly, the results system; the system that calculates, captures, and processes the results is undergoing a complete rewrite.
“On the logistical side, prior to 2024, voters only used two ballot papers–one a national ballot and the other a provincial ballot. In these elections, that changes. There will be three ballot papers–two ballots for the National Assembly and one ballot for the Provincial Legislature. So, immediately, you realise that the number of ballot papers to be printed has increased by 50% and the number of days available to print the ballot papers following the closure of nominations has not increased, so there is that logistical complexity that has been introduced by the new Act.”
The next major challenge for the IEC is informing and educating would-be independent candidates, as well as voters.
For this to be successful, Mamabolo says that a mixed approach is required.
An on-the-ground aspect will be carried out by ‘Democracy Education Facilitators’, who will hold community workshops in townships and villages, as well as at existing congregations within communities such as churches, football associations, youth groups, and women groups.
This, Mamabolo believes, will provide a “human element to the delivery of civic and democracy education”.
“Our research tells us that TV and radio remain the most credible sources of news in the country, so we will also be running voter education programmes on these media. The third avenue for delivery is the social media platforms. There is a significant proportion of young persons who converse and engage politically on social media, therefore there must be a dedicated civic education component that is delivered through social media,” he adds.
The final element of the approach pertains to stakeholder liaison and sessions that the Commission holds. These are needed to ensure that a broad section of society is informed about the electoral process and that people are therefore appropriately mobilised for participation.
In terms of the pushback against the amended Act, Mamabolo says that there are currently two cases before the Constitutional Court.
These cases deal with the distribution of seats in the National Assembly, as well as the signatures required of independent candidates and political parties, and the replacement of elected officials who wish to withdraw mid-term.
A very important aspect in the build up to the elections is the voter registration weekend. The IEC has announced that the first voter registration weekend will take place on 18 and 19 November 2023.
These are explained by Mamabolo as follows:
- “The first case deals with the distribution of seats in the National Assembly. The elections of the National Assembly are going to be on the basis of two ballots–because it is a two-tier National Assembly. The one tier pertains to the election of representatives from provinces representing the provincial interest in the national law-making process. That component accounts for 200 members of the National Assembly and another 200 fall under the second tier, which is a National to National list which is used to restore proportionality. Now the first case before the Constitutional Court challenges that distribution of 200/200. The applicants in that matter, the Independent Candidates Association, contend for a 350 regional provincial allocation and 50 compensatory.”
- “The second case relates to two aspects, firstly, the One SA Movement led by Mmusi Maimane is contesting the number of signatures required of independent candidates and political parties who don’t have representation currently in any legislative assembly. The law as it stands predicates the signature requirement on 15% of the applicable quota in the previous elections, which means if the quota was 50 000 votes to get a seat from Gauteng to National, you now need to get signatures totalling 15% of the 50 000 for your candidature to be successful. They are saying the determination of the 15% is rather high and they contend for a signature requirement of 1 000.”
- “The second aspect of the second case regards replacements when a vacancy is created mid-term. If you are an independent candidate, you are elected for a five-year term, but what happens if you no longer wish to be a Member of Parliament?” The Act proposes to exclude the votes of the departing independent representatives and do a recalculation of the quota to determine the next eligible candidate which may be a party candidate or independent candidate. Such an approach remains loyal to an endeavour to maintain inter-proportionality.
Ensuring democracy reigns in 2024
South Africa currently faces many challenges, including political fragmentation, populism, and continued economic inequality. These challenges have brought about a disenchantment on the part of the citizens of the country–something we saw in the voter turnout at the 2021 Municipal Elections.
While Mamabolo would love to be able to affect change across the board, the reality is that the IEC should forever remain independent. What the IEC can do, however, is to educate voters, as an informed voter is an active voter.
“We should be mindful of the fact that we have to provide an independent service to the country and avoid the temptation to get into the boxing ring. It is not for the IEC to agitate for a change in voting patterns; it is for the opposition parties and the new parties coming on board to exploit the perceived and real weaknesses of the government,” Mamabolo insists. South Africa currently faces many challenges, including political fragmentation, populism, and continued economic inequality.
These challenges have brought about a disenchantment on the part of the citizens of the country–something we saw in the voter turnout at the 2021 Municipal Elections. While Mamabolo would love to be able to affect change across the board, the reality is that the IEC should forever remain independent.
What the IEC can do, however, is to educate voters, as an informed voter is an active voter.
“We should be mindful of the fact that we have to provide an independent service to the country and avoid the temptation to get into the boxing ring. It is not for the IEC to agitate for a change in voting patterns; it is for the opposition parties and the new parties coming on board to exploit the perceived and real weaknesses of the government,” Mamabolo insists. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of those in government to defend their performance and to outline a record their successes.
“As the IEC, we need to provide voter education and run campaigns that capture the imagination of the country so that every citizen of age in the Republic is aware of the fact that they can vote.”
In terms of businesses in South Africa, Mamabolo says that it is in their best interests “to ensure that our democracy is a functioning, stable democracy, because those conditions precede economic growth, which we all need for development in the country”. This can be done by making contributions to the Multi-party Democracy Fund, which provides resources to parties on a formula that has been determined by Parliament.
“You are not giving to one party, you are giving to all of them, albeit in terms of their relative strength,” Mamabolo explains. From an IEC perspective, they are looking to partner with businesses in terms of availing their expertise to the Commission, as any and all support will help contribute towards the delivery of a successful election in 2024.
“Business South Africa as a conglomerate corporate entity has a vested interest in the delivery of a credible election for the country, and to that extent the Electoral Commission is calling for its partnership in mobilising the workers within corporate to participate in the election and in mobilising the resources that may be available to support multi-party democracy, and lastly in sharing with the Commission its skills base to ensure that a successful election is delivered next year,” Mamabolo concludes.
And that is what we need to secure a prosperous future for South Africa.
Sy Mamabolo
