AS the date for the upcoming local government elections in the country has been announced, the Electoral Commission has urged voters to check where they are registered.
The commission said that this will help the voter to know where he will be on election day which is November 4, 2026. Students living away from home, who will be in higher education institutions on election day, have been instructed to register where they will be in order to be able to vote.
Mr Sy Mamabolo, the chief executive officer of the commission, said that since the date of the election has been announced, they are moving forward with preparations for this big day.
He said they are determined to hold elections that are smooth and undisturbed.
“It is important that people know where they will be on election day. A person can only vote where they are registered, so they must know where they will be on election day.”
The commission will open an opportunity on June 20 and 21, for people to register to vote. It is also planned that another opportunity will be opened again in August.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the date of the election, all that remains is for the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Indigenous Affairs, Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa, to officially enter this date in the government document, theGovernment Gazette.
The day he enters this date under this document, that will mean the closure of the electoral roll, the voters roll. The closure of this document will mean that no one will be able to register to vote.
Another thing that will happen is that the Commission will release a list of days when a list of people will be brought by the parties, and the money to contest the election will be brought. If you miss these days, that will mean that the party will not be able to participate in the election.
On the other hand, Hlabisa appealed to political parties to promote peace as the elections are being held. Different parties welcomed the announcement of the election day to go ahead with the election plans.
The MKP party is still complaining that the date of the election has been announced when it still has complaints about the 2024 national election. This group is complaining about being robbed by the commission as there was a time when the election results board was not working for almost three hours in 2024.
This issue of MKP and the commission will go to court next month. Hlabisa said that he hopes that the Department of Basic Education and Higher Education will make plans to ensure that the writing of the exams is not interrupted during the election week, which is why the date was announced early. Ramaphosa appealed to the councilors who want to be reinstated after the election, to stand firm and reveal their experiences to the public.