Post Election Provincial Review
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Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa 14 Park Rd · Richmond · Johannesburg · PO Box 740 · Auckland Park · 2006 · South Africa Tel: (+27) 11 381 6000 · www.eisa.org.za South Africa 2014 Election Updates EISA Election Update Six www.electionupdate.org.za Editorial Team: Ebrahim Fakir, Waseem Holland & Kerryn Kotler; EISA Copy Editing and Proofreading: Professor Craig MacKenzie; University of Johannesburg Website: Duncan Russell SA Elections 2014: Post Election Provincial Review Contents Free State page 2 Dr Sethulego Matebesi – Chairperson, Department of Sociology, University of the Free State Mpumalanga page 6 Oupa Makhalemele, Independent Researcher KwaZulu Natal page 9 Shauna Mottiar- Post Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Civil Society, University of KwaZulu-Natal Gauteng page 13 Waseem Holland, Independent Researcher and Lindelwe Dube, Intern, EISA North West page 18 Dr Ina Gouws, North West University, Vaal Triangle Campus Eastern Cape page 22 Musa Sebugwawo, Lashiola Kutya Sibulele Poswayo and Stephen Shisanya – Afesis-corplan Northern Cape page 26 Obakeng Bonokwane – Independent Researcher Western Cape page 28 Dr Cherrel Africa, Head of Department, Political Studies, University of Western Cape and Nkosikhulule Xhawulengweni Nyembezi, Co-chairperson of the Elections 2014 National Co- ordinating Forum Limpopo page 33 Ralph Mathekga, Director, Clearcontent Research and Consulting 1 Free State Dr Sethulego Matebesi – Chairperson, Department of Sociology, University of the Free State Introduction Elections form the bedrock of democracies, as they provide citizens with the opportunity to choose leaders of their choice or to voice their resentment at a ruling party. “Yet experience … increasingly suggests that electoral events conceived and held in isolation from their broader political context can become as much part of the prevailing political ‘problem’ as their democratic ‘solution’.”1 The recent elections in South Africa, which generally unfolded smoothly, are indicative of the progress the country has made in enshrining and consolidating democratic processes. This article reviews critical issues and challenges regarding voter turnout, voting processes, evaluation of the performance of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), declared disputes, conflicts and irregularities, the role and impact of election observers and party agents, and the role of social movements and civil society in the Free State (FS) province. Data for citizen participation/ voter turnout 2014 Table on Turnout and valid votes- Free State Province 20142 % Voter turnout %Voter Spoilt or *Eligible Registered based on turnout based on Year invalid Population Population registered eligible population population votes 2014 1,710,490 1,499,488 71.01% 60.1% 14, 634 *NOTE: This data, obtained from Statistics South Africa, includes only the population 20 years and older. Voting processes With a registered voting population of 1,449,488 and 1,523 polling stations, it was expected that it was going to be a daunting task for the IEC to ensure that their its two-year preparatory work was implemented effectively on Election Day. A particularly praiseworthy aspect of the elections in the FS is the polling stations. All polling stations, the majority of which were located in public facilities, were clearly marked and the layout sufficiently guaranteed the 1 Andrew, Ellis. Electoral processes and democracy: a moving field. 19 May (2009) http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/idea/electoral-processes-and-democracy-a-moving-field 2 Statistics South Africa. Mid-year population estimates 2013. 14 May (2013). http://beta2.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022013.pdf 2 secrecy of the vote. Voting began with special votes, which involved more than 4,400 voting station visits and over 10,700 home visits. The special vote process was not without its anomalies. According to Chris Mepha of the provincial IEC, special voting did not open in ward 25 of the Mangaung Metro. At Khotsofatso farm school, which had 14 special votes, the area manager failed to provide the presiding officer with election material. In Moqhaka (Kroonstad) not all voting stations opened on time, and chairs and tables were not available at a temporary voting station.3 On May 7, voting started at 7:00am as scheduled at the majority of voting stations. However, a total of 52 voting stations opened late, with a voting station at Smithfield being the last to open shortly after 08:00am on that day. The official reason provided for this delay in Smithfield was that the IEC's area manager was involved in a car accident en route to the voting station.4 IEC officials did not experience major challenges throughout the day. At around 15:00pm, a total of 228,961 voters at all 1,523 voting stations had already cast their votes.5 A serious concern on the part of voters is that too many voters waited until the last minute to visit polling stations. This contributed to long queues early in the evening and around 9:00 pm. This was especially prevalent in QwaQwa in the eastern FS. Voting was, however, extended for those already in the queue. Generally, though, voters in the province managed to cast their votes without any interference. There were a number of factors that contributed to making the environment conducive for the elections. Firstly, voters commented that the IEC personnel were adequately trained on aspects of the electoral process and demonstrated high levels of competence and understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Secondly, one factor that played a major role in ensuring the safety of voters and IEC officials was the presence of the South African Police Service (SAPS). This view was shared by the provincial commissioner, Lt Gen Simon Mpembe, who stated that more than 8,000 police were deployed across the province during the election period. He noted: “our members, together with other law enforcement agencies such as community policing forums and traffic police, showed a high level of commitment .... We managed to address the challenges before they could become a problem.” Evaluation of the IEC - appraisal of counting process and announcement of results A key element of any election process is to ensure all ballot responses are handled quickly, efficiently and with the utmost accuracy. In this regard, the IEC has been able to implement proven systems that enable it to produce sound and credible results for the elections. In the FS, the counting process was preceded by an elaborate process of reconciliation of the ballots, which in some cases delayed the counting process. 3 Siphiwo, Nzawumbi. Free State's special Votes. 6 may (2014). http://elections.sabc.co.za/Elections2014 /Election 4 Christal-Lize, Muller. http://www.ofm.co.za/article/145809/IEC-FS-head-says-Mangaung-voting-going-well 5 Christal-Lize, Muller. Elections Day: 'Smooth sailing in FS'. 7 May (2014). http://www.ofm.co.za/article/145841/Elections-Day-Smooth-sailing-in-FS 3 Shortly before 11am on May 7, 604 of the 1 523 voting districts had been counted. Vote counting in the province was completed on Friday night on May 9. The IEC did, however, experience delays in the release of results from the large regions in the provinces such as Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality in QwaQwa, Mangaung Metro in Bloemfontein and Matjhabeng in Welkom.6 Declared disputes, conflicts and irregularities The IEC has a great variety of election complaints adjudication processes in place. Elections in the FS were not mired in alleged irregularities, and hence no disputes were declared by political parties in the province. The IEC in the province fired an area manager during the special voting period after he refused to hand voting material to the presiding officer of the Khotsofalo farm school voting station. This particular voting station had 14 special vote applications. The IEC has not yet provided the outcome of its investigation into the Kestell Old Age home voting station in the Maluti-a-Phofung area. The facility apparently told IEC staff no proper arrangements had been made for special votes.7 Role and impact of Election Observers, Party Agents and Civil Society Organisations The fundamental difficulty with the study of the role and impact of election observers and party agents is its measurement. In the case of the African Union (AU) Election Observer Mission, observers played a significant role by being present at some of the polling stations and IEC centre in the FS. Similarly, civil society organisations such as churches, trade unions and community-based organisations assisted observers. In addition to enhancing transparency, these organisations encouraged many registered voters to cast their votes early on the elections day. It can be argued that the presence of these various stakeholders at polling stations may have may have contributed to voters feeling less intimidated by possible problems. There is no doubt that political party agents play a pivotal role in elections. A notable feature of the past elections was that the ruling party managed to post a few party agents, supported by several volunteers, at each polling station in the province. While most party agents were seen encouraging their members to go to the voting stations, the ANC party agents were the most visible at the majority of the polling stations. The party agents played an oversight role inside the polling stations and also had to sign the provisional results released by the IEC before they were announced outside the polling station. A few reports of party agents that caused problems in polling stations were reported in the Botshabelo area. This, one can contend, is because the political parties that recruited them failed to provide them with adequate and accurate training. 6 Teboho, Letshaba. Free State voters await results announcement. 8 may (2014). http://www.sabc.co.za/news /a/a879150043eb3c429234b6866b9bf97e/Free-State-voters-await-results-announcement-20140508 7 SAPA. Free State IEC fires area manager. 6 May (2014).