Slow start for voter registrations
2008-11-08 18:09
Cape Town - IEC Chairperson Bragalia Bam says she is confident that registration numbers will increase throughout the weekend.
Bam spoke to voter registration staff at a school in Cosmos City while visiting registration centres in Johannesburg, where turnout has been lower than expected on Saturday.
President Kgalema Motlanthe earlier urged South Africans earlier on Saturday to register to vote in next year's national election, which many are billing as the most important since the end of apartheid.
It was "crucial that South Africa's young and old register to cast their ballot next year," independent radio station 702 quoted Motlanthe as saying.
On Friday, IEC Communications Officer Kate Bapela told News24 that this weekend's voter registration drive was not the last time South Africans could register to vote, adding they could visit a Municipal Electoral Offices during regular office hours for many months to come.
Confusion
She also clarified that only those who have never registered, of those who have moved to a new residential area, need to re-register.
"[Registered voters] do not have to register again. However, if you have moved house then you have to re-register in your new voting district."
Nearly 20 000 registration stations have been set up around the country.
A report from the IEC indicates that 70% of eligible South Africans are already on the voters roll, while only 24% of people between the ages of 20 and 24 are currently registered to vote.
It is hoped that recent interest in the US Elections, where president-elect Barack Obama won votes from over 60% of voters under the age of 30, will inspire young people to become more interested in South African politics.
Communication problems
There have also been several problems reported with the SMS facility and website set up by the IEC.
The website of the Independent Electoral Commission was reportedly "clogged" by more than 180 000 visits to the site before noon on Friday, according to the IEC.
IEC chief executive Pansy Tlakula said on Friday 46 000 ordinary visitors had accessed the site, over 101 000 people visited the site to enquire about whether they were registered to vote, and 37 000 people had asked where they should go to register to vote.
"These numbers are growing by the hour," Tlakula said.
The IEC was also receiving thousands of SMSes from people wishing to check their registration details.
"There was a time when we were receiving more than 1 800 SMS requests simultaneously. More than 53 000 SMSes were answered in 24 hours and 43 000 of the 77 000 request this morning has thus been responded to.
The IEC also had a problem with cross-browser compatibility. The site could only be accessed using Microsoft Explorer. This problem will only be fixed in two months time. - News24 and Sapa
- News24