Prisoners too scared to vote

2004-03-16 13:49

Jabu Mhlabane

Nelspruit - Only 12.63% of prisoners in Mpumalanga have registered to vote in the elections on April 14, because most are too afraid to submit their identity books, said provincial electoral officer for the Independent Complaints Directorate, Steve Ngwenya.

He said many prisoners said they were afraid that if they submitted their identity books and gave their physical addresses, police could link them to other crimes.

"During the voter education exercise at prisons, we found that most prisoners were afraid they could be linked to other crimes," he said. "Many tried to submit false information when applying for temporary identity books."

Mpumalanga has 17 prisons and 9 942 prisoners, only 1 256 of whom registered to vote.

The biggest prison in Mpumalanga is Barberton Prison, where 15.02% of prisoners, or 425 out of the 2 822 prisoners, registered to vote.

At Nelspruit Prison, only 72 of the 1 474 prisoners registered to vote.

- African Eye