The Electoral Commission of SA is exploring the introduction of electronic voting, which could potentially boost declining youth participation in the democratic process.
The IEC, rated among the top three electoral bodies on the continent, is set to hold a workshop on the introduction of e-voting this week.
It argues that it is merely starting the conversation about the possibility of introducing e-voting and weighing up the pros and cons.
The conversation comes at a time when the MK party in particular has sought to discredit the IEC, with its leader Jacob Zuma promoting the use of drums for supporters to place their ballots in instead of using the sophisticated system built over three decades in SA.
A huge challenge for SA is rapidly dwindling voter participation, particularly among the youth, and according to IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo, e-voting has been shown to improve voter turnout in some parts of the world.
E-voting refers to casting and counting votes electronically. A practice used to varying degrees of success globally, it could address some of the challenges faced in SA.
However, it could also add to these challenges, which is why the IEC is opting to draw in civil society, parliamentarians and ordinary citizens to explore the possibilities for the country, Mamabolo told Business Day.
There is no decision on that as yet... we think it’s important to give an opportunity to the public and other role players to debate the issues
— IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo
“So, there is no decision that has yet been made to move towards electronic voting, yet we think it’s important to give an opportunity to the public and other role players to debate the issues, and hopefully get to a point one way or the other where we decide on the way forward,” he said.
The IEC has developed a discussion paper, set to be released during the workshop on Monday, where it examines the advantages and disadvantages of of an e-voting system.
One disadvantage is that it would be expensive to buy the technology, so the initial capital layout would be large, but could reduce over time.
E-voting was introduced and used to varying degrees of success globally, but in some cases was introduced and then rolled back. For instance, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Peru all implemented and then abandoned the new technology due to legal challenges, voter mistrust, cyber security and technical or infrastructure problems.
The only country in the world which has successfully implemented and continues to use an internet-based e-voting system is Estonia — however, this is due to the unique characteristics of the country. It has a small population, an advanced economy and technological infrastructure and a stable political environment.
Countries such as India, Brazil, Philippines, Venezuela, Bhutan, Nepal and Fiji continue to use electronic voting due to its ability to increase accessibility, efficiency, boost voter turnout and improve the integrity of the election.
“Look, our own scanning of the environment internationally, there are states in the US which implement it successfully, especially the voting station-based model... so that is why we are launching the discussion paper so that there can be this national debate about is it necessary, is it affordable, how do we deal with the pitfalls that other countries have experienced.
“Which is why we’ve invited countries such as Namibia, the DRC, Estonia, and so on, to come tell us about what are the concerns, so that we can take those into account as we debate the issue in SA,” Mamabolo said.
A key factor to consider would be the huge divide between rural and urban infrastructure and, crucially, the trust factor — voters have to be educated on any potential new system so that they are assured elections are free and fair, he added.
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