Some political parties pinning low number of registered voters, public apathy on IEC
The IEC estimates that the voters’ roll loses between 30,000 and 40,000 registered voters every month due to mortality.
FILE: A voter registration banner outside a voting station. Picture: Nhlanhla Mabaso/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Some political parties have heaped the blame on the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for the low number of registered voters and apathy, particularly among the youth, to vote.
There are currently just over 27 million registered voters on the electoral roll.
Delivering the commission’s strategic plan for this financial year to Parliament’s Home Affairs committee on Tuesday, political parties questioned whether enough is being done to boost voter registration and election turnout.
The IEC estimates that the voters’ roll loses between 30,000 and 40,000 registered voters every month due to mortality.
But the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says it doesn’t believe the IEC is doing enough to encourage people to register.
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Member of Parliament Thapelo Mogale says the IEC should set itself an ambitious target.
"It’s like they are passing the buck to political parties, and I refuse to accept that because the IEC is charged with this particular responsibility of ensuring that our people are registered to vote."
The Democratic Alliance (DA)’s Nicole Bollman and ActionSA’s Lerato Ngobeni also wanted to know whether the commission fully understood the reasons behind the low voter turnout in recent elections.
The IEC’s outreach executive officer, Mawethu Mosery, said the factors influencing registration and turnout have been addressed in several studies.
"It will be dissatisfaction with the performance of government. Secondly, it would be dissatisfaction or difficulty of the life they live as citizens of the country. "
IEC Commissioner Judge Dhaya Pillay added that low voter turnout is a problem experienced worldwide, and Italy recently annulled a referendum because of it.
The commission says budget constraints will determine whether it will be able to hold one or two registration drives next year, in preparation for the next local government elections.