South Africa's IEC Preps for the Historic 2024 National and Provincial Elections

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officially announced the launch of its national and provincial election programme for 2024. The official launch took place at the Gallagher Estates in Midrand on Tuesday, setting the stage for a historic election as it will allow independent candidates to contest national and provincial seats for the first time. This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law in April enabling the participation of independent candidates.

The program comes with a proactive theme "Your Democracy – Own It", encouraging South Africans to actively participate in their democratic process. Sy Mamabolo, the Chief Electoral Officer, extended this call for engagement, asking citizens to utilise the Commission's online portal for registration, verification, and updates.

With the current legislature's term ending around 18th of May 2023, Mamabolo noted that the national and provincial governments would remain in office until their successors are ready to take over. According to the South African Constitution, the country must hold an election within 90 days of the expiry of the legislatures’ terms. Therefore, the anticipation is that the 2024 elections will be held between May and the middle of August.

IEC plans to make use of innovative technology in the form of a WhatsApp chatbot to provide South Africans with immediate assistance. Users can access this chatbot and receive replies to their queries by saving the IEC number 0600 88 0000 in their contact list and initiating a chat on WhatsApp with it.

The commission, headed by Chairman Mosotho Moepya, put forth a poignant reminder that democracy is a continued journey, not a destination, and expressed optimism for the growth and unity that the next 30 years will bring to South Africa's electoral democracy.