The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has launched a six-month national consultation process to gather feedback on the potential introduction of electronic voting (e-voting) in South Africa.
This follows an international conference hosted by the commission in March on the feasibility of electronic voting in the country.
Speaking during a media briefing yesterday, chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the consultation process aims to gather insights from voters, political parties, interest groups and civil society organisations to shape a comprehensive policy on e-voting.
“Public trust is central to the success of e-voting. That’s why it is critical that the process is open, inclusive and accessible to all South Africans,” commented Mamabolo.
“E-voting may contribute to increased participation by certain demographics. But in and of itself, e-voting will not impact the turnout of persons who have opted out of electoral processes. In other words, persons who do not see value in voting will not vote just because there is a new voting platform.”
While no decision has yet been made on the implementation of e-voting, Mamabolo emphasised that the commission is carefully weighing its feasibility, taking into account SA’s unique social and infrastructural landscape.
According to Mamabolo, a thorough analysis of the total costs associated with e-voting must be undertaken. It must not be accepted as fact that e-voting would reduce the costs of administering elections.
“Successful e-voting systems require robust, reliable technological infrastructure, including secure servers, stable power sources and reliable internet connectivity. Implementation of e-voting must help the country transcend some of its institutionalised challenges: the digital divide, low levels of internet penetration in certain social settings, illiteracy and accessibility for persons with disabilities.”
At the conference, the commission launched a discussion document covering:
- Reasons for considering the introduction of e-voting in SA.
- The relevant constitutional principles, policy and legal framework that must precede the introduction of e-voting in the country.
- Available e-voting options, their technologies and cost implications.
- Relative benefits and challenges of the diverse options, bearing in mind the South African context.
- Attitudes and concerns of the public and key stakeholders regarding e-voting.
- Opinions and preferences of marginalised groups, including persons with disabilities and rural communities.
- Experiences of jurisdictions that have successfully implemented e-voting and those that have stopped using e-voting.
Mamabolo confirmed that e-voting will not be implemented in the upcoming 2026 local government elections.
The implementation of online self-voter registration, he added, is positively impacting the maintenance of the voters’ roll and the currency of the voter’s information on the roll.
Since June last year, the Electoral Commission has interacted with over 408 000 voters across its voter registration platforms; 258 838 were persons registering as voters for the first time. The majority were young persons.
“We urge all eligible South Africans to use this modality to register, and those who are already registered to check and, if necessary, update their address details to ensure they continue to shape the affairs of their communities by participating in by-elections in wards where they are ordinarily resident.”
Share