IEC granted extension over voters roll

Concourt gives until November 30 next year, but with conditions attached

THE Constitutional Court yesterday granted the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) an extension until November next year – after the general elections – to ensure the voters roll was valid and contained all the addresses of voters.

The IEC had approached the court asking it to further extend the suspension of the invalidity of the commission’s voters roll, which it declared in 2016 due to the absence of addresses of some registered voters.

The court had then directed the commission to collect all the voter addresses, in line with the 2003 law that required an address for each voter to be on the voters roll.

In June this year, the apex court had already extended the order suspending the declaration of invalidity until the end of this month.

The IEC, however, wanted the extension to go beyond next year’s general election as it did not want aggrieved political parties to use the unavailability of addresses to challenge the outcome of the elections.

Opposition parties also joined the court action – including the DA and the IFP – and complained that absent addresses enabled “bogus” registrations as well as registrations in the wrong province that could influence the electoral results.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Edwin Cameron said the invalidity of the voters roll would now be suspended until November30 next year, but with conditions.

“The IEC must, by November30, 2019, have obtained and recorded on the national common voters roll all the addresses that were reasonably available at December17, 2003,” Justice Cameron said.

He added that contesting political parties were justified to be concerned as addresses helped ensure the integrity of the voters roll. “First, they enable parties, especially in a close contest, to track down individual voters to canvas them. Second, they enable a check on voter fraud by allowing candidates and parties to scrutinise the roll, voter by voter, location by location, to guard against bogus registrations and phantom voters busing in,” he said.

Justice Cameron also ordered the IEC to furbish the court with progress reports on January31, March31, May 31, July 31 and September 30 next year, which must set out the number of addresses it had obtained and recorded, which were outstanding post-2003, the number of those that were still outstanding and steps taken to obtain them.

IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said the commission welcomed the ruling.

“The ruling provides certainty on the status of the voters roll, and especially those voters without addresses before next year’s elections. Today’s judgment will greatly help the electoral commission ensure the elections are free and fair,” Bapela said.

She added that the IEC would work hard to meet the conditions set out by the court, including periodical reporting and ensuring that voters without addresses provided their addresses prior to voting.