Electoral Commission (IEC) Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, has reminded the electorate that special votes will take place on 27 and 28 May, ahead of the main voting day on 29 May.

According to Mamabolo, the time of operations for special votes will be 9am to 5pm.

Addressing media this week in Pretoria on the Electoral Commission’s state of readiness for the National and Provincial Elections, Mamabolo said following the 3 May deadline for the application for special votes, the Commission has approved a total of 1 668 076 special votes applications.

Of these, 624 593 are for voters who will be visited at their homes or places of confinement, and 1 043 483 are voters who will vote at voting stations where they are registered.

Mamabolo said the provinces with the most approved special votes for both home visits and voting station visits are Gauteng (335 4980), KwaZulu-Natal (320 010), Eastern Cape (286 059), Limpopo (159 800), Western Cape (137 558), North West (132 627), Mpumalanga (126 112), Free Stat
e (86 908) and Northern Cape (83 504).

‘Our staff is prepared and will be at all voting stations, as well as visiting the homes of those who are unable to visit the voting stations to ensure that all those who have been granted special votes have a smooth voting experience,’ Mamabolo said.

Mamabolo said party and independent agents will accompany special votes staff and accredited observers.

Mamabolo explained that after the voting process, the cast ballots (sealed in their double envelopes) will be transported through a secure channel back to the national office of the Electoral Commission for counting.

‘To protect the secrecy of the vote, all special votes are first placed in an unmarked envelope, which is then inserted into a second envelope marked with the voting station and voter’s particulars for verification on the list of approved special votes. The envelope is then placed in the ballot box,’ Mamabolo said.

Applications for special votes closed on the 3rd of May 2024.

There were two categories o
f special votes. The first relates to home visits for those registered voters who are infirm or have impaired mobility. These voters may apply to be visited at home or a place of confinement.

The second category of special votes is available to any registered voter who wishes to vote early at their voting station.

Earlier, the Commission said there are over a million special vote applications that have been approved for these elections.

Source: South African Government News Agency