The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has warned disgruntled communities and political party members against disrupting this weekend’s voter registration drive, ahead of the November 1 Local Government Elections.
IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo issued the stern warning during the commission’s update on the state of readiness ahead of voter registration weekend on Thursday.
”We have been working with the Natjoints (National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure), we also had a priority committee meeting this morning where possible hotspots have been identified and they have been handed over to the SAPS, who will provide the necessary security for people.
“Everybody should not be interrupted, if you are about any other process be it from a political party or from the municipality or any matter it does not grant you the right to disrupt the registration process,” Mamabolo assured voters.
Mamabolo pleaded with all communities across the country that this is not a process to disrupt and that it is about people vindicating their right to vote.
”These are constitutional rights and you have no right to interfere with them,” he said.
He assured the nation that the safety of voters and staff was critical to the commission.
Mamabolo addressed growing fears that hackers might target the IEC this weekend after a number of state institutions and government departments’ information and communications technology (ICT) systems have been attacked.
“We’ve taken the necessary precautions to safeguard our ICT infrastructure.
“All the necessary security measures that a business is supposed to have have been implemented,” he said.
Mamabolo said the IEC would be implementing additional heightened security measures, which he was unable to disclose, suffice to say that the commission is not taking the matter lightly.
”We are working on it and we should not experience any difficulty this weekend,” he explained.
A total of 23 151 voter registration stations will be operational from 8am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday and there are 48 899 registration officials have been trained.
Political Bureau