Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Room for improvement, say election observers

2 min read

South Africa’s electoral process still faced some challenges, a report compiled by the Election Observer Mission (EOM) said on Wednesday.

Most of the problems noted in the report involved inconsistent voting and counting procedures.

Some ballot booths were positioned in a way that could have compromised the secrecy of the ballot, said the EOM report.

It also noted:

  • The use of ballot papers which were not very distinct from each other led to confusion;

  • Some voting stations used one ballot box for both national and provincial ballot papers whilst others used a ballot box each for the two different papers;

  • The lighting in some voting stations was inadequate;

  • In a number of counting stations, there was no reconciliation of ballot papers before counting;

  • The role of party agents was not clear — in some cases they were observed playing the role of election officials;

  • Stakeholders noted that the date of the elections over the Easter holidays had the potential to affect voter participation; and

  • There were not enough domestic observers.

    • However these caveats did not have an overwhelmingly negative impact on the outcome of the elections, according to the report, which concluded that the South African 2004 elections were conducted in a peaceful, orderly and transparent manner.

    ”The mission is therefore satisfied that the elections is a true reflection of the will of the people of South Africa. We therefore congratulate the Independent Electoral Commission, the political parties, civil society and the people of South Africa.

    ”We hope that this environment will be conducive to further development and to meeting the challenges ahead,” EOM leader Abel Leshele Thoahlane said.

    Forty representatives from civil society organisations, electoral commissions, and government ministries in ten Southern African Development Community countries — Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe — made up the observer mission. – Sapa