The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will stress test voter management devices during the upcoming registration weekend, ahead of using them to run an election for the first time.
On Friday, the IEC reported to a joint meeting of the home affairs portfolio committee and select committee on security and justice in parliament.
MPs were anxious about the functionality of the 40,000 devices the IEC will use in the upcoming local government polls. The electoral body faced a grilling on its preparedness to host the upcoming elections, particularly in terms of mitigating the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
Attendees pressed the IEC’s team to test the units before next weekend’s registration drive and the elections.
DA member Angel Khanyile asked: “Have these devices been delivered? If they have been delivered, we would like to have these devices tested. When can that occur?”
Mgcini Tshwaku of the EFF pressed the IEC to test the devices over the weekend before the registration drive. “Can you test these devices by Monday? Because the end of the next week is registration. It’s going to be a very busy week,” he said.
“We are going to do our best,” said IEC chair Glen Mashinini.
Masego Sheburi, the IEC’s deputy CEO, assured MPs that staff would undergo further training this week to ensure the administration of a free and fair election.
“I can confirm we have staff on board and we have begun the processes of refresher training,” said Sheburi.
He reported the devices would be “stress” tested during the upcoming voter registration weekend.
“We are in the process of stress testing them and uploading updated versions of the apps we have developed in house to facilitate the registration of voters,” he said.
During a presentation to the home affairs committee in May, Mashinini reported the devices’ price tag was R627m, which equalled nearly a third of the R2bn voting budget.
The election budget is certain to rise, due to the costs associated with adhering to Covid-19 safety protocols.
The National Treasury has promised additional funds to the electoral body for buying personal protective equipment (PPE) staff will wear at polling stations.
Regarding protocols to keep staff and voters safe from Covid-19 transmission, Sheburi said the IEC tested protocols during by-elections in late 2020 and early 2021. They would now be applied on the much larger scale, across more than 23,000 voter stations. Sheburi said PPE for voting day remained unfunded until last week and procurement processes had now commenced.
IEC representatives deflected questions raised by opposition politicians on how much it had spent on an inquiry led by former Constitutional Court justice Dikgang Moseneke and a failed court case to delay the polls.
Home affairs committee chair Mosa Chabane pressed for the apex court’s reasoning to clarify changes to the timetable and candidate nomination.
Shahidabibi Shaikh, chair of the security and justice select committee, made a call for eligible voters to sign up during the registration weekend of September 18.
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi promised home affairs offices would be open to assist would-be voters over the registration weekend. Motsoaledi said voters who lost their IDs could obtain a temporary identification certificate (TIC) from the department which would be acceptable identification for voting.
He highlighted the need for people to collect their IDs in time for the elections. Home affairs had 418,000 IDs that have not been collected.
“Our problem is collection of IDs […] we have 418,000 IDs that have not been collected,” said Motsoaledi.
batese@businesslive.co.za
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