This is the second instalment of the ANC 2016 Election Manual _____
ANC Election Campaign Manual 2016 Appendix A How the elections will work Who votes for what? Metro Council voters: one PR vote for metro council one ward vote for individual candidate Local Council voters: one PR vote for local council one ward vote for individual candidate one PR vote for District Council District Management: one PR vote for DMA representatives to District Council Area voters: one PR vote for District Council Note: in some very small local councils with very few councillors, there may be no wards and only a PR vote. Who can stand as candidates? The Constitutional says that: • Candidates must live in the municipal area and must be a citizen who is entitled to vote in the area. They should be a registered voter in that area. It is not necessary for a ward candidate to live in the ward where they stand but they have to live in the municipality. • Candidates may not have been declared un-rehabilitated insolvents or of unsound mind by a court order • Candidates may not be people working for the council or employees of another government department who have been excluded by national legislation from standing. • Any elected public representatives serving in another council or other level of government may not stand. (MPs, MPLs and councillors in other municipalities) • Anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in prison after the end of 1996 may not stand. The other laws and regulations that apply to candidates are: • Councillors must be on the voters roll in the municipality where they live • PR candidates must be nominated by a registered party • No-one may stand as an independent in a ward and on a PR list for a party. • If a party candidate is both a PR and ward candidate, and wins in the ward, they must take up the ward seat. • A deposit should be paid by parties and independent ward candidates and will be lost if they fail to gain a certain percentage of votes There are no provisions for candidates to be disqualified because of arrears. Parties may include this in their own selection criteria. Once elected to council, council rules may be used to expel councillors who are in arrears. Replacing councillors after election Councillors can be disqualified or can resign after election. If they are party representatives, they could also be expelled or resign from the party. The Municipal Structures Act says how to deal with replacing PR and Ward councillors. PR councillors PR councillors can be withdrawn and replaced at any time by their party. Vacancies are filled from the party list or a supplementary list submitted by the party. Ward Councillors When a ward councillor resigns or is disqualified, a by-election will be held. If a ward councillor stood with a party symbol next to their name, they must leave their seat if they stop being a member of that party. Metro and Local Council elections Metro and local council elections work in the same way. Half the councillors are elected from a PR ballot where voters vote for political parties. The other half are elected as ward councillors. Every voter gets a PR ballot with party names (all voters in the council area get the same PR ballot) and a ward ballot with candidate names (every ward has its own ballot paper). In local council areas voters will also get a third ballot to cast a PR vote for the District Council they fall under. Allocation of Local and Metro Council seats The Constitution says that the council must reflect overall proportionality of all votes cast and this leads to a complicated method of allocating seats. The method for doing this is set out in the Municipal Structures Act: 1. A quota of votes needed to gain a seat is worked out by adding the total number of votes cast in that election for PR and party ward candidates and then dividing it by the number of seats on the council. 2. All votes cast for a party on the PR ballot and for that party’s candidates on ward ballots are added together. 3. Each party’s total is then divided by the quota to see how many seats they are entitled to. 4. The number of ward seats already won by that party are then subtracted from the total of seats allocated to the party. (Ward seats are won by the candidate who gets the most votes.) 5. The remainder of seats the party is entitled to are then allocated to the right number of people on the party’s PR list Example: 1. A total of 100 000 votes were cast in Makana Municipality and there is a 10-person council. 2. The ANC wins 60 000 of the combined PR and ward votes in Makana. 3. The quota for each seat is 10 000 votes and we are entitled to 6 seats. 4. We win 4 out of the 5 wards and therefore already have 4 out of our 6 seats 5. We are given another 2 seats from our PR list District Council elections District councillors are elected in three different ways 1. 40% of representatives are elected by all voters in area on a PR ballot and drawn from party lists 2. The remaining 60% are drawn from representatives of local councils (elected by each council) and representatives from District Management Areas elected by voters in the DMA on a PR ballot. The 60% is split between local council reps and DMA representatives based on percentage of voters that live in each council or DMA area. The local council representatives will be elected through a list based election in the council and should reflect the number of seats different parties have. So, if the ANC has half the seats in the local council they will probably get half of that council’s representatives to the district council. Example: A DC in the Free State has 50 seats. 1. 20 seats are filled from the party lists after using a PR vote in the whole district. 2. The other 30 seats are filled by reps from the 3 local councils and the one DMA that fall in the district. The 3 councils get 29 out of the 30 seats and it is split between them based on the percentage of voters they have living in their council area. Within each local council, a list-based election is held for councillors to represent that council on the DC. A party with half the seats in the local council, will probably get half the reps from the council to the DC. 3. The DMA has 2% of the voters and can elect one party rep on a PR ballot. Who will run the elections at all levels? The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is in charge of managing and supervising the elections. In every province the IEC has set up an office under a Provincial Election Officer. In every local municipality a Municipal Electoral Officers (MEO) will be appointed by the IEC to register candidates, organise voting stations, voter registration and to run the elections in that municipality. In most areas the MEO will probably be the Municipal Manager. In bigger areas someone else can be appointed or delegated to do the work. The Municipal Electoral Officer is responsible for employing all staff and making all the practical arrangements for voter registration and elections. Note: the ANC will register all its candidates at the IEC national office and nothing needs to be handed in to the MEO The MEO will employ election officials for each voting station. The appointments must be presented to the Party Liaison Committee. A few full time staff are already employed by most municipalities to work on elections. All their election related work takes place under the direction of the MEO and the PEO or other IEC structures and they may not take orders on any election work from the mayor or councillors. If there are any problems with MEOs please gather the facts and make objections to the PEO, via our provincial PLC reps, as speedily as possible. Party Liaison Committees (PLCs) At all levels the IEC has set up Party Liaison Committees to consult and inform political parties about the arrangements for the elections. The PLCs have no decision-making power but are there to advise the IEC and to deal with conflicts between different parties or between a party and the IEC. Opposition parties take PLCs very seriously and use them well. The ANC must be vigilant and make sure that we participate effectively in PLCs. We should take the lead in solving problems through the PLCs at all levels. All electoral arrangements like voting stations, staff, voter registration plans, candidate registration, logistics for Election Day, etc, are discussed in PLCs and we have to ensure we have strong representatives who can protect the interests of the ANC and our voters. At national level all registered political parties that have representation in Parliament will have two representatives on a PLC. At provincial level all parties that won seats in the provincial election will send two representatives to a PLC that is chaired by the Provincial Election Officer. Local PLCs At a local level there will be one PLC in every municipal area where a Municipal Electoral Officer has been appointed by the IEC. All parties that participated in the last election usually sit on the local PLC. Once the election date is promulgated all parties that register for a local election will also be entitled to representation on the local PLC. The MEO should chair local PLC meetings. Local PLCs are very important for monitoring voter registration and electoral arrangements. The LET coordinator plus one senior councillor should represent the ANC on the PLC. If anyone who was effective on the previous PLC, is available, that person should serve again for the sake of continuity. Any local problems that cannot be resolved should immediately be referred to the provincial or national PLC reps. PLC reps should start work immediately and do the following: • Inform the MEO that you are the reps and attend meetings • Hold a local ANC assessment of what went wrong in the last local and national elections in terms of registration, voting stations, materials, staff and any other arrangements. This assessment should guide your input at PLC level. • Check the VD maps and sign off on boundaries unless there are major problems. • Check whether there are any new boundaries for wards that cut through VDs and make sure voters are being re-registered through door-to-door work in areas affected. • Check all new voting stations that have been identified and raise problems if there are any. • Make sure plans are made for direct registration work in low registration areas or target groups like youth. • Monitor the plans for voter registration weekends • Monitor the appointment and training of election staff. Who can vote? All South African citizens over the age of 18 will be allowed to vote in the local elections. On Election Day for local elections, you can only vote at the voting station in the voting district (VD) where you registered on the voters roll and you must have a bar-coded ID book or smart card ID. If you lose your ID you can get a temporary replacement ID called a “Temporary Identity Certificate” which can also be used to vote with if it has not expired Voter registration South Africa is divided into about 23 000 voting districts – each one with its own voting station. To vote you have to be on the voters roll for your voting district. On Election Day only the roll for that district will be at the voting station. If a voter’s name is not on the roll and they have a sticker in their ID or a receipt that proves registration at that voting station, they must be allowed to vote. They will be asked to fill in a form and will then vote normally. Most voters are already registered from past elections. If you are still living in the same voting district where you voted in the 2009 or 2014 elections, you do not have to register again (unless your VD boundaries have changed). If you have moved, you should change your registration so you can vote at the voting station in your area. Getting all voters registered for the right voting station is a huge task. The main focus will be on public voter registration weekends that are likely to be held towards the end of 2015 and/or early in 2016. For voter registration we must target: • Voters who have turned 18 since the last elections • Voters who have never registered • Voters who have moved from one voting district to another since the last elections • Voters who live in areas where VD boundaries have changed Registration works like this: • You need a green ID book or smart card with a bar code (issued after 1986) or a temporary ID document • Go to the voting station on a public registration day (or the municipal office on a normal working day) and fill in a form to show that you live in the area • A special scanner (Zip –Zip) will be available in each voting district - it can read the bar code in your ID book and automatically records the correct information about your name and ID number for the voter’s roll. • The Zip-zip also prints a sticker that will be pasted in your ID book to show that you have registered at that voting station, or put on a paper receipt of you have a smart card ID The IEC has the whole voters roll on one national computer and when you register the computer will check if your ID number already appears somewhere else. If it does, the computer will automatically cancel your registration at your old voting district and only accept the latest registration. Voter registration is already open and voters can register at the office of the municipal electoral officer (MEO) at the municipal offices. In some areas door-to-door registration will be done by the IEC because voting district boundaries have changed. MEOS together with local Party Liaison Committees may also decide to do targeted registration in areas where there is low registration. On the voter registration weekends that are planned, the ANC can send party agents to observe the registration process. The voters roll The voters roll is a list of all the voters in the country and it is broken into separate lists for each voting district. The voters roll will close about three months before the election. Anyone who did not register by then will not be allowed to register. The electoral time table is published close to elections. The following steps will be followed: 1. Notifying people whose registration is refused Any person whose application to register as a voter is refused must be notified in one of the following ways: • A notice must be sent or delivered by hand to the voters address • A list of all people who are refused registration must be displayed at the council office • A list of all people who are refused registration must be published in the local newspaper. The electoral time table usually allows about two weeks from the close of registration to notification. 2. Appealing against refusal to register someone as a voter Anyone who has been refused registration may appeal against the decision by sending the following information to the Commission in Pretoria: • Name, address and ID number of the person who is appealing • Reasons and details for why you are appealing • Any documents that help your case The timetable usually allows a week for appeals. 3. Deciding the appeal and notifying the voter The Commission can ask for more information from the person who is appealing or from the Municipal Electoral Officer. The Commission then decides the case by looking at all the written evidence or calling the people involved to come and give evidence. This work has to be completed within a few days. 4. Voters roll open for inspection Once all the appeals are dealt with a provisional voters roll is compiled and made available at council offices for inspection. This should happen a few days later. 5. Objections against any names on the roll Anyone who wants to object to a voters name being on the roll or a name being left off the roll, can then make an objection in writing to the Commission in Pretoria. Include the objector’s name ID number and address, the details of the case and the reasons for objecting as well as any documents that may help the case. The deadline for objections is about a week after the publication of the draft roll. 6. Deciding objections and notifying the people involved The Commission then decides the objections and informs the people involved. You cannot appeal against a decision by the Commission. This happens at least five weeks before the election. 7. Publishing voters roll The final voters roll should be published about five weeks before the election. This roll has to be used to verify the registration of all candidates. It also becomes an important tool for campaigning. Voting day and hours Voting will be for one day only and will take place from 7am to 7pm. There will be between 400 – 4 000 voters per voting station and it should be easy to complete the voting in the time allowed. Anyone who is in the queue at 7pm and has not yet been able to vote, must be allowed to vote before the voting station can close. The ANC must ensure that all our voters are in the queue as early as possible. Voting process These steps will probably be followed in the voting station – it may be changed slightly in regulations that are issued closer to the elections: 1. A scanner is used in the queue to check that voter is on the roll and at the right voting station 2. Voter enters station and shows ID 3. Voter’s name is crossed off the voter’s roll. 4. Voter’s hand is examined to see if it has been marked. 5. The hand is marked to see that the voter does not vote again. (The ID book may also be stamped) 6. The voter is given a ballot paper for the local council, ward and district (unless in metro area). 7. An official stamp is put on the back of the ballot papers. 8. The voter goes into the voting booth and makes a cross for one party or candidate on each of the ballot papers. 9. The voter folds the ballot papers and puts them into the ballot boxes. An election official will check to see that the ballots have the stamps on the back before they are placed into the boxes. If a voter needs help to vote because of disability or sight impairment they can bring someone they trust to vote for them. Illiterate people may ask for help from the presiding officer or another electoral official. If an electoral official helps the voter to vote, two party agents or an observer can watch. Postponing, re-voting or relocating in a specific voting district The Electoral Act allows for three ways to deal with violence, cheating, loss of materials, intimidation, natural disasters and other factors that could prevent a free and fair election in a particular voting station. Postpone: the voting can be interrupted and postponed to another day, as long as it is within seven days of the election date. Re-vote: The vote can be cancelled and re-held on another date within seven days of the election date. Relocate: the voting station can be moved to another venue where voting can carry on on the same day. Counting Counting will happen at the voting station in most cases. Votes may only be counted in a different central place if this is needed to ensure free and fair elections or if the votes came from a mobile voting station and are taken to a voting station for counting. Provisional results will be announced and pasted up outside the voting station when counting is finished. The result slip is sent to the IEC through the office of the MEO. This should be a few hours after the close of voting. Campaign access Any representative or candidate of a political party has the right to talk to voters in any public or private place as long as it is reasonable. This means that parties can go onto places like farms or hostels to talk to the workers who live there. The farmer or boss can refuse permission for you to come onto their property if it is during working hours but they should give permission for you to come at other times. If they refuse report them to the Municipal Electoral Officer. Electoral Court A special Electoral Court will hear all appeals against IEC decisions and will make decisions on all cases related to the Electoral Act and free and fair elections. Appeals must go to the Supreme Court of Appeals Before cases go to the Electoral Court for a hearing, conciliation must be used as a first resort to settle disputes. Typical questions about voting and their answers 1. If I am travelling on Election Day will I be able to vote? No. You can only vote at the voting station where you are registered. 2. What if someone still has a temporary ID because they lost their ID and their proper Identity Document has not arrived? To vote you need an ID or temporary ID document. You can vote with a temporary ID document if it has not expired. Go back to the Home Affairs office and try and find out what happened to your ID because maybe it is waiting for you. 3. When is a vote spoilt? It is quite difficult to spoil a vote. Any mark that makes the voter’s choice clear is acceptable. It is only if the voting paper is blank, if the mark crosses more than one party, if the ballot has more than one mark or if the voter wrote their name on it, that it will be considered a spoilt paper and it will not be counted. 4. What kind of marks will be accepted as a vote? A cross is definitely the best mark to use but any other mark that makes the voter’s choice clear will also be accepted. So, if you make a tick or any other sign in the right box next to only one party’s name your vote will be counted. 5. What about special votes for people who cannot come to the voting station because they are old or sick or disabled? There are now special votes in local elections. People who are disabled or frail can apply to be visited at home of come on special votes day. On Election Day, frail voter will be taken to the front of the queue. 6. What about people who are in prison? Prisoners will not be able to vote in local elections. 7. What happens when people are still waiting in the queue at closing time? Anyone who is in the queue by 7pm must be allowed to vote. The presiding officer will declare the voting station closed but must tell people in the queue that they must wait and vote before the officials can go home. No-one new may join the queue after closing time. 8. Will you be able to wear organisational T-shirts and badges in the voting station? The voters should be able to wear whatever they like when coming to vote but party agents and officials working for the IEC will not be allowed to wear any symbols, T-shirts or badges of political parties. Party agents will be given special signs to show that they are party agents but may not campaign near the voting or in the station or wear party T-shirts or buttons. Candidates may wear whatever they like, but inside the voting station boundary they must cover rosettes or T-shirts with party emblems – put on a jacket or jersey. 9. Will South Africans living in other countries be allowed to vote? Not in local elections. -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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