Political parties are becoming increasingly worried by estimates that as many as 9,5-million South Africans are not registered for the 2004 election.
”There’s a massive amount of work to be done,” African National Congress communications coordinator Steyn Speed told the Mail & Guardian. ”I don’t think we can go to an election with this number of unregistered voters.”
The ANC is bringing out its big guns in every province for the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) voter registration drive, being held this weekend. This Sunday ANC and national President Thabo Mbeki will be in KwaZulu-Natal, where the party may be facing intensified pressure from the Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party, which are now in alliance.
Hundreds of thousands of ANC supporters in key urban heartlands are not yet on the voters’ roll. There is concern that the approximately 800 000 unregistered voters in Durban and 450 000 in Pietermaritzburg could undermine the organisation’s election victory chances, according to an ANC MP.
The DA is said to be concerned that many of its potential voters across the country may not be registered because they have moved home since 1999. In past elections the party prided itself on getting the majority of its supporters to the polling booths.
DA leader Tony Leon on Tuesday urged Port Elizabeth residents to register, as this would make the difference between the election of an ANC and an alternative provincial government.
”In this province alone almost two million are unregistered — more than half of eligible adults. The unregistered voters represent roughly 38 seats in the provincial legislature and could single-handedly determine the future of this province.”
According to Census 2001, about 27,4-million South Africans ought to cast their ballots in 2004, if everyone shows up at the polling stations. The IEC has confirmed its voters’ roll contains 17,9-million names.
IEC chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula said this week that everything was in place to open almost 17 000 voting stations from 8am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.
And while the website — www. elections.org.za — may be a little slow because of the number of people logging on to check whether they are registered, the number of operators at the toll-free call centre (Tel: 0800 11 8000) will be increased.
Those who should register include everyone who has moved house since the June 1999 election, those never registered and those aged 16, although they may only vote once they turn 18.
Tlakula said that after an assessment of this weekend’s registration, the IEC would decide whether or not to hold another such drive in early 2004.
A key problem that remains is the tens of thousands of barcoded identity documents — needed to register on the voters roll — that need to be collected from the offices of the Department of Home Affairs.
Parliamentary home affairs committee chairperson Patrick Chauke welcomed the Post Office’s promise to help distribute the documents in informal settlements and rural villages.