Over 40 political parties will compete in South Africa’s general elections scheduled for May 8, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
As reported by News24.com, after reaching its deadline for collation and acceptance of deposits, the Commission made this announcement through its Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, on Wednesday, when the election umpire hosted 45 representatives of the 48 parties involved, at a Code of Conduct signing in Johannesburg.
With 19 more political parties in this year’s poll, over 50 million ballot papers will be printed in a process that could take up to 14 days, to effectively cater to the 26,700,000 registered voters.
Mamabolo also disclosed that Gauteng will be the most contested province, while the Northern Cape will be the least in the provincial polls.
While stating that it will do whatever it can to protect the integrity of the forthcoming elections, the Commission, however, expressed concerns over the poor state of electricity in the country and how blackouts may affect the elections.
“Electricity supply is a matter of concern for the economy and it’s a matter of concern for the elections themselves. We are going into a second-tier contingency plan to make sure counting, because it happens at night, is not disrupted,” said Mamabolo.
While this would cost the Commission more money, Mamabolo stressed that it was necessary, to avoid errors in the electoral process.
“Nonetheless, in order to protect the integrity of the electoral process, we’ll spare no cent, no effort, to make sure there is sufficient lighting inside the voting stations on Election Day.”
Meanwhile, the IEC Chairperson, Glen Mashinini, urged South Africans to uphold peace during the elections because a successful election is the responsibility of everyone, not just the Commission.
“It is everybody’s business. It is our responsibility as citizens of this country. It is the responsibility of the leaders of this country.”
All the party representatives present, vowed to uphold the Code of Conduct, which was established to help promote a peaceful, free and fair election process.
Representing the African National Congress (ANC), incumbent president and presidential candidate, Cyril Ramaphosa said: “We are bound, as we are gathered, by responsibility that the will of the people shall prevail by appending our signatures.
“We do it so we can inspire our voters, also to sustain that which we achieved in 1994. We also sign so that future generations may look to this moment and continue to follow those who founded this democracy,” said Mouisoa Lekota, leader of the Congress of the People party (Cope).
Elections are set to hold in over 22,900 polling units on May 8, with over 29,000 voters registered in the diaspora, ready to cast their own vote on April 27.
