Breakdown of the 2024 South African elections voting process
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has held several significant elections that have shaped its democratic landscape.
However, a significant development in the 2024 election is the allowance for independent candidates to stand for National and Provincial Elections, a change brought about by the 2023 Electoral Amendment Act.
This historic amendment led to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) clearing 14,889 candidates, including 70 political parties and 11 independents, to contest 887 seats in the 2024 election.
According to the IEC, 27.79 million South Africans aged 18 and above have registered for the elections this year up from 26.74 million in 2019.
Voters with special needs, such as expectant mothers and individuals with disabilities, cast their ballots two days before election day on May 27 and 28, while registered voters residing overseas cast their ballots on May 17 and 18, according to the IEC.
Here is a step-by-step guide to the voting process for the 2024 South African elections:
Voting
The first step in the voting process is verification, where voters' names are checked against the voters' roll. Following verification, voters proceed to ink marking. Here, indelible ink is applied to the thumbnail of each voter. This measure is taken to prevent double voting and serves as a physical token of a citizen's participation in the democratic process
Voters are then presented with three distinct ballots. The National Ballot, coloured blue, is for electing political parties to the National Assembly. The Regional National Assembly ballot, orange in hue, is unique to each province, allowing voters to elect a political party or an independent candidate within their region. Lastly, the Provincial Legislature ballot, pink in colour, is also unique to each province, where voters choose political parties and independent candidates for the provincial legislature.
Election results
The election results are promptly made available online on the official IEC website following the ballot count. At the polling stations, results are shown on the station doors after the count.
To facilitate voter access to information, a Voter app. Available on major mobile app stores has been introduced, according to the IEC, this application has detailed resources for all election-related information, ensuring voters are well-informed and prepared.
The final results of the election are expected to be announced by the IEC on June 2.
