Voting from behind bars

WITH 240 prisons in South Africa, the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC), and Departments of Correctional Services and Home Affairs have to ensure that each prisoner who is eligible to vote has a valid identity document.

Prison rights activist Golden Miles Bhudu, of the SA Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr), said it had called on its membership to engage unit managers, heads of prisons and area commissioners and explain to them that to vote is a democratic right, and those who couldn't register because they did not have their ID documents with them at the prison or couldn't afford to pay for one, must demand to vote using their orange prison card.

“They can also use a fingerprint ID scanner as a form of identification.”

Bhudu added it was the responsibility of authorities to make sure each prisoner had a valid ID document.

“Hundreds and thousands of notyet sentenced and sentenced prisoners could be disenfranchised because of the indisputable fact that a vast majority couldn't register because they didn't have their green barcoded IDs and/or Smartcard IDs with them, for very obvious reasons,” he said.

Bhudu also called on political parties to be given the opportunity to canvas at prisons to give offenders insight and education about who they wished to vote for.

“Not allowing political parties access into correctional services facilities to campaign, lobby and canvas potential voters is unconstitutional and could make a mockery of our hard-earned democracy.”

The IEC said it could not divulge the latest figures for prisoners who had registered to vote until it had completed the process.

The IEC said prisoners would be eligible to vote on the set election date.

“Arrangements are made with correctional facilities as well as with SAPS, but there is no special protocol for prisoners. As at any other voting station, agents will be allowed to observe the voting process,” said the IEC.

Mocheta Monama of Correctional Services said he was not in a position to comment. “As per the elections guidelines, all enquiries on elections are facilitated through the IEC.”