The Electoral Commission (IEC) has called on interested parties to send submissions on the distribution of the 200 regional seats in the National Assembly.

Briefing media on Tuesday, Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, said the Commission will consider the submissions and representations, together with voter population data in each region, to determine the spread of the 200 seats.

‘This work is an important precursor to candidate nomination, as it will enable political parties to know how many candidates they may field in each respective region to the national list,’ Mamabolo said.

There are 200 regional seats in the National Assembly and 200 compensatory seats.

The public submissions will close on 20 February 2024. The Gazette can be found on http://tinyurl.com/EAARegulations.

Following public consultation, Mamabolo said the Commission has now determined the quantum of election deposits for political parties and independents, who intend to contest the forthcoming elections.

The determined deposits ar
e as follows:

A political party that contests the compensatory seats in the National Assembly and in all the nine regions will need to deposit an amount of R300 000.

A political party will also need to have R50 000 for each of the provincial legislatures.

A political party that contests the compensatory seats in the National Assembly and in at least one region will deposit R225 000 and R25 000 for each additional region.

Independent candidates will deposit R20 000 for each region they contest and R15 000 for the election of a provincial legislature.

Deposits are refunded to parties and independent representatives that win a seat.

‘The Commission will also imminently publish its determination of the number of seats in each provincial legislature. The determination also follows a period of public consultation and representation by interested parties as well as data related to population in each province,’ Mamabolo said.

Portal to capture signatures now available

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission h
as announced that a portal to capture signatures supporting nominations to contest the 2024 National and Provincial Elections is now available for use by unrepresented political parties and independent candidates.

‘Independent candidates must be supported by 1 000 voters in a region or province in which they stand. Unrepresented parties must be endorsed by the equivalent of 15% of the quota of votes per seat in the previous election for a region or provincial legislature they intend to contest,’ Mamabolo said.

The link for the platform is https://online.elections.org.za/MyIEC

The Commission reminded voters who are still not registered to go online or visit the offices of the Electoral Commission in municipalities to register.

Mamabolo said registration will remain open until proclamation of the election date.

Voters can use the Commission’s SMS line 32810 to check their registration status.

‘Our contact centre on 0800 11 8000 remains available as well as our WhatsApp line 0600 88 000 is also available t
o assist voters,’ Mamabolo said.

Source: South African Government News Agency