JOHANNESBURG - An estimated 14,753 inmates have registered to cast their ballot when South Africa heads to the polls on Wednesday. According to Section 24B of the Electoral Act, prisoners are allowed to vote in the national and provincial elections within the district they are imprisoned in.
IEC Provincial Electoral Officer for Gauteng, Thabo Masemula commented on their readiness to assist prisoners on voting day, saying “We administer prison voting in terms of section 24B of the Electoral Act. So, [Wednesday] is the day when we'll be visiting all the correctional facilities nationally and in the province. “
He added “The dispensation that prisoners have is not categorised as a special vote. Their votes are administered during vote election day, which is [Wednesday]. So, our teams will only go to the prison facilities [Wednesday] to facilitate voting of inmates.”
Meanwhile, Masemula could not account for any voters who had cast their special votes in hospitals provincially. “This process for home visits is address-driven. Whether you are confined in a hospital, once you provide us with those details, we are constitutionally obligated to visit you and administer the special vote wherever your place of confinement is. And as I've said, for prisoners, they don't belong in that category.”
Masemula lauded the turnout on both the special voting days on 27 and 28 of May, with over 110,000 approved special voters casting their special votes at the polls provincially.
By
Kgomotso Kgoshe