Defend our Democracy launches election monitor

Next year's polls have been described as hotly contested and most historic since the dawn of democracy.

Speaking at the briefing in Parktown, executive director of Defend our Democracy Zaakirah Vadi said while the campaign aims to pronounce on the integrity of elections, this doesn't detract from the role of the Independent Electoral Commission.

The campaign is expected to last until just after the elections to allow for observation of the counting process.

Vadi presented on the campaign plans and objectives: "It will include observation of elections, on the day of elections itself, as well as the counting process that follows thereafter. It's centred around 2024, the technological systems that will be developed through this process, the reporting processes, the experiences, and the civil society network that develops around this campaign."

She says this being the first year of the campaign, there may be limitations with mobilising volunteers through other civic organisations in some rural areas.

"For 2024, we think that our priority provinces are Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and that is based on the number of organisations in those provinces that we've previously worked with."

The Independent Electoral Commission only accredits organisations for observer missions.

Offering her message of support, former IEC chairperson Brigalia Bam spoke about the importance of election observer reports towards the reputation of governments.

"If people feel the elections were not run properly, there were far too many mistakes, it means that the decision of the government that's going to rule will have a negative image."

At the same time, former IEC vice-chairperson Terry Tselane emphasised the importance of adequately training observers to understand the relevant laws and general 'do and don'ts': "You're not only looking at the political environment, but you're also looking at the technical aspect of the management of elections because that's where elections are won or lost."

Volunteers will be trained on using use an application that will feed real-time information to a monitoring centre.

"If, for instance, we get 10 reports where there are reports perhaps of violence in a particular area, we are able to escalate that to the police in the area or perhaps reach out to the regional IEC official in the area," Vadi explained.  

According to the IEC, there will be over 23,000 voting stations open for South Africans to cast their vote.

There are currently nearly 27 million registered voters, with a second voter registration drive weekend expected to be held early next year.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is yet to announce the election date. However, the law dictates that the ballot must happen between May and August next year.

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