MODULE 1

THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK GOVERNING ELECTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Constitution : Chapter 1, Section 1(a)-(d). It includes all civil and political relating to elections such as the freedom of the media and the right to vote.
The Bill of Rights : Freedom of conscience, Freedom of expression, Freedom of assembly, demonstration, pickets and protest and Freedom of association.
The Electoral Commission Act : Act No.51 of 1996 – establishment of the Electoral Commission to manage National, Provincial and Municipal elections, powers, duties & functions
The Electoral Act : Act No. 73 of 1998 provides regulations regarding the operation of national, provincial and municipal elections (The instruction manual for elections).
Electoral Code of Conduct and electoral offences : The purpose is to promote conditions that are conducive to free and fair elections; including the following:

Tolerance of democratic political activity
Free political campaigning and open public debate

Every registered party and every candidate is bound by this Code.

Electoral Code of Conduct and electoral offences :

Parties sign a Pledge (Statement of Commitment)
Any political party that breaches the code can :

be fined;
be stopped from working in an area; or
have their votes in an area cancelled.

The Electoral Court has jurisdiction in respect of all electoral disputes and complaints about infringement of the Code of Conduct, subject to section 20(40) of the Electoral Commission Act.

What is Electoral Fraud ?

It refers to illegal interference with the process of an election through deliberate wrongdoing. Electoral fraud can take place before an election taking place and throughout the election period, both inside and outside voting stations. Electoral fraud is a crime in South Africa.

Reporting of Offences

If a political party or candidate has breached the Electoral Code of Conduct the matter can be:

reported to the Electoral Court;
reported to the nearest branch of the SAPS or
reported to the Electoral Commission through its municipal. Provincial or National office.

Refer to page 15 Observer Handbook for the detailed type of offences.

The main types of the electoral systems

The “winner takes all” or constituency system

- In this system the country is divided into constituencies or wards in which one votes. The party with the highest number of votes in the ward wins the election and gets a seat in Council/Legislature/Parliament.

The proportional representation (PR) system

-The PR system is also called the party list system. Here every vote counts. The total number of votes a party gets decides the number of seats it gets.

A mixed system

-This is a combination of the “winner takes it all” and PR systems. The final number of seats that goes to different parties is decided by the principle of proportionality.

Party Liaison Committees

At national, provincial and local level, the Electoral Commission coordinates Party Liaison Committees (PLCs), whose functions are to:

inform political parties on election arrangements, including procedures for attendance at election result centres;
consult and advice Electoral Commission on election arrangements; and
deal with conflict between parties, or between a party and the Electoral Commission.

At local level, all registered political parties have two representatives at the local PLC.

Rules governing party agents

A party agent must:

wear prescribed tags that state “Party Agent and the party they represent;
communicate with the presiding officer or his/her deputy, and not with ordinary voting officers;
comply with any orders given by the presiding officers;
not display or distribute any information about their party in any form, nor may they wear or carry any item that displays a party logo, picture or sign;
not attempt to induce, influence or persuade a person to vote or not to vote;
not interfere with the voting process in any way, or with voters in the station, but may lodge objections with, or bring irregularities to the attention of the presiding officer.
must be allowed to observe proceedings at each of the following points:
The voters roll station;
The ballot paper station;
The inking station
Not try to witness the marking of the ballot

Roles of party agents

Party agents may:

Check and verify the seals on the ballot boxes to ensure that they are intact (i.e. unbroken) before the boxes are opened
Witness the process whereby the status of questionable ballot paper is determined
Witness the completion of the result forms and their signatures
Copy the results for that voting station.
No communication with people outside the venue is allowed until the results are finalised.

VOTING STATIONS AND VOTING CENTRES

The Electoral Commission makes use of different types of voting stations:

PERMANENT VOTING STATION - These are permanent structures that are immovable and are used for voting; e.g churches, schools, libraries etc
VOTING CENTRES – These are voting stations with large numbers of registered voters that are divided into a number of substations. A typical example of a voting centre would be a school, where instead of using one classroom for voting different classrooms are used as substations.

EQUIPMENT AT THE VOTING STATION

When you arrive at the voting stations check that all these things are available so that voting can go smoothly.

FURNITURE – Voting booths, tables, chairs
EQUIPMENT – Ballot boxes, IEC stamp for ballots, ink for marking thumb, seals for the ballot boxes, identification tags for officials and agents, trays, party stickers and rubber bands (for counting purposes)
DOCUMENTS – Voters roll, ballots. The presiding officer should also have a copy of the Electoral Act, Regulations and presiding officer’s handbook
FORMS :

Objections and appeal forms for party agents to object to different parts of voting and counting process (MEC 5 – 8);
Voting station checklists and diary – keeps a record of all boxes and ballots issued at the voting station;
Voting station result form – the slip that is filled in to capture and reconcile the votes cast

ENVELOPES :

Will be for special votes, objection forms, cancelled ballots different types of disputed ballots (for the counting process)

OPEN AND SEAL BALLOT BOXES

Before voting starts all the ballot boxes must be opened in front of the party agents so that they can check that the boxes are empty. The boxes must be sealed so that only the top slit is left open.

The box containing the special votes in their double envelopes should be kept separate and sealed until these are added to the ballot counting tables in front of all party agents. The box is opened and then the outer envelopes are checked against the special voters roll. Only then are they opened and the outer envelope is set aside, the ballot is taken out of the inner black envelope and added to the count.

THE VOTING PROCESS

IN THE QUEUE – An election official will check the voter’s valid ID to make sure the she or she is registered to vote.

AT THE VOTERS’ ROLL TABLE – The voter will give his/her ID to the voters’ roll official, who checks who checks on the Voter Management Device (VMD)if the voter’s name is on the printed section of the voters’ roll for his or her voting district. The voter’s name will then be crossed of the voters’ roll.

AT THE INKING TABLE – An election official will make a small mark on the nail of the voter’s left thumb with indelible ink to show that he or she has voted.

AT THE BALLOT PAPER TABLE – The voter will be given three ballots, one for national, regional and province (if voter is registered in that province). An official stamp will be placed at the back of each ballot to show that it was issued on election day.

AT THE VOTING BOOTH – The voter will be directed to an empty voting booth to cast his or her vote by placing an X in the box next to the political party and/or candidate of his/her choice. Any mark is acceptable as long as it shows who the voter is voting for.

AT THE BALLOT BOX – An election official stationed at the ballot box will check to see that the ballot papers have the official stamp on the back, and direct the voter to place them into the correct ballot box

SEALING OF FULL BALLOT BOXES

Full ballot boxes as well as the remaining boxes at the end of voting, must be sealed by the presiding officer and kept in full view of party agents. (Please record each the serial numbers and compare that at the end of votng before counting takes place).

THE COUNTING PROCESS

The presiding officer becomes the counting officer and the deputy presiding officer becomes the deputy counting officer.

Each voting station is issued with two or three results slips depending on whether a voting district.
Cell phones must be switched off, except that of the counting officer and confirms the rules regarding acceptable and unacceptable ballots.
The numbered and sealed ballot boxes are opened.
The ballot are unfolded, sorted and reconciled by the election officials.
The ballots are counted, checked and bundled, and the recorded votes are entered onto a result slip
The recorded votes are entered onto both results slips (in duplicate) by he counting officer, and signed off by the deputy counting officer, in the presence of at least two party agents , these party agents must then also append their signatures to the result slip.
The ballots are then placed back into the ballot boxes, which are then resealed and kept in storage for six months after the election in the event of any queries and challenges.
The one result slip is sealed in a tamper –evident bag and sent to the Electoral Officer, where the results are verified and scanned and transmitted to the IEC central result centre.
The other copy of the result slip is displayed outside the door of the voting station.

QUESTIONABLE BALLOTS

A ballot is regarded as questionable if:

The intention of the voter is not clear;
The IEC official security stamp is not on the ballot; and
The ballot paper does not appear to be an official ballot paper issued by the IEC.
It appears that the voter’s identity may be indicated on the ballot, e.g the name of the voter .

A ballot must be rejected (regarded as spoilt) if:

If more than one vote is on the ballot paper;
The ballot paper is unmarked;
The ballot paper is marked in such a way that the voter’s choice is not clear (this is the most difficult and controversial incident)
The ballot paper is marked at the back with the official security stamp.

OBJECTIONS AND APPEALS

Throughout the voting and counting process, any voter, party agent or ward candidate can lodge an objection to any alleged irregularity at a voting station that could affect the results, and a record kept of these objections:

A voter being allowed to vote or not allowed to vote at the particular voting station;
A voter being given too many or insufficient ballot papers;
The conduct of the voting officer, party agent or any other person;

During the verification process:

The sorting ballot paper;
The counting of the votes and the determination of the results

The counting officer or deputy counting officer will handle objections related to counting at the counting station. He or she must ensure that the objection forms (MEC 13 and MEC 15 ) are readily available to provide to party agents /candidates to complete each time objections are raised; and keep a record of all objections raised and decisions made.

However, if a party agent is not in agreement with the decision of the counting officer of an objection to voting or counting at a voting station, the complainant may lodge a section 65 objection to the IEC if the complainant is of the view that the matter is material to the result of the election. Such objections must be lodged before 17h00 on the second day after voting takes place.

DECLARATION OF RESULTS

After all the objections have been dealt with, the IEC must announce the final result and seat allocation for metropolitan and local councils within seven days of election day. In practice, election results usually become available within about three days of election day.

The Result Slip is the most important document for checking that there is no cheating before counting. It will tell how many ballots were given to the presiding officer, how many were used in the voting station and how many are left over. It also list the result of each political party, and the number of spoilt papers. It is used to reconcile the whole voting process. One agent from each party should sign the result slip next to the result for their party.

CHECKLIST

BEFORE ELECTION DAY

Attend any training offered by the IEC or your political party
Get party agent authorisation form from your political party – without it you cannot be a party agent
Make sure you know who in your party to communicate with on election day and where to send reports – your branch and local offices as well as party representatives at the MEO (Municipal Electoral Office) office.
Make sure you know the names and contact details of the local IEC staff and your local and provincial party representatives.

ON ELECTION DAY: WHEN YOU GET THERE

Take with you to the voting station: your ID, your authorisation form, a pen a handbook, a fully charged cell phone (remember not to use it in the voting station for calls or photos or social media) some food and drink and some warm clothes.
Get to the voting station at 06h00 and introduce yourself to the presiding officer, staff and other agents.
Check inside and outside the voting station to see if all equipment is in place. If the queue area is properly organised and the boundary clearly marked
Check that the voting booth is placed so no-one can see voting
Check arrangements for toilets, water, first aid, security and telephones
When the presiding officer opens the ballot boxes check that they are empty and properly sealed. Only the special votes box should have ballots in sealed envelopes inside.
Keep record of the number of ballots at the voting station.
Record the time voting starts.

DURING VOTING

Remember to vote if you did not cast a special vote already
Check whether voting is going fast enough and if not, try to help overcome problems (do not interfere) – mostly problems are caused by bottlenecks where too many voters are waiting for one part of the process. Make suggestions to the presiding officer
Regularly check each table and the work of the official. Try to share watching with other agents – especially at the voter’s roll table, the hand –marking and the ballot issuing. You may watch everything except how voters cast their ballots
Bring problems to the attention of the presiding officer and keep good notes about them. Make objections on the right forms when needed – get them from the presiding officer.
Stay in touch with your election coordinators and local offices and report serious problems
If the presiding officer does seriously wrong things and does not respond to objections, report to the MEO through your PLC rep or local coordinator, get help
If you are prevented from observing staff or chased away from the voting station, report to your PLC rep or election coordinator, get help.

DURING COUNTING

Stay inside since you may not be allowed back in if you leave
No pens are allowed on table and no agent may touch a ballot paper
Follow every step of the counting and check that boxes are sealed before opening
Check all numbers that are written on report and result forms
Check all spoilt papers and discuss
Sign the voting station result slip only if you are sure the figures are correct
Write down results or photograph result slip and report to your political party

AT THE END OF VOTING

At 21h00, check that the queue is closed but that all voters are already in the queue are still allowed to vote. SAPS or the IEC can place one of their members at the end of the queue to stop new people joining.
Watch sealing of the boxes, count left over ballot papers and stamps
Check the filling in of the voting station report form
If the counting is happening somewhere else, follow the vehicle that takes the boxes
Make sure that party agents are inside the voting station before the counting starts, as the doors will be locked and no one allowed to enter thereafter

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