Online registration system ‘has not solved IEC problems’ - EFF

The Independent Electoral Commission will hold its only voter registration weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

EFF election spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys says the party has already begun assisting young people to register.

“We really thought that the online registration (system of the IEC) was going to solve a lot of problems and it hasn’t. We are getting a lot of feedback and it is blocking the peak time when people want to register.

“We have been online registering young people, so the weekend is just to do final touches and to encourage young people to vote and developing a voting culture, especially among young black Africans.

“We know voting is been kind of a new thing for us, not that it is only a country duty, but to encourage young people that you need to vote in order to live a better life in South Africa.”

Mathys says the IEC should be held accountable for any technical failures which impacts the fairness of the polls.

“The media is missing an opportunity to hold the IEC accountable. The IEC’s mandate is to deliver free and fair elections and when we have the IEC descending to the state of how the government is run, both the entities and government departments, it’s a huge problem.

Party leader Julius Malema will be in KwaZulu-Natal on both days.

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