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Three by-elections were held in George Municipality on 20 July 2023. These by-elections went ahead following an unsuccessful court application by the Good Party, to the Electoral Court, to have them postponed.

The political party had approached the Electoral Court with among others, allegations that 174 (and not 188) voters were registered against one address in Pacaltsdorp, which is a suburb in George Municipality. 

The court dismissed the application and the by-election went ahead. 

The Electoral Commission, in keeping with its obligation to ensure free and fair elections, had considered the case of the 174 voters and concluded that all those voters were correctly registered in the voting district and ward linked to their addresses, and thus entitled to vote in the by-election. The affected voters were not,  as alleged, new entrants on that ward segment of the voters’ roll.  The voters have been historically registered in the voting district and in the ward. In fact, some have voted in previous elections, including the 2021 Local Government Elections. 

The Electoral Commission also confirms that all the 174 voters were not registered using any of the online platforms, given that their registrations pre-date the introduction of electronic means of registration. The addresses presented by voters when they applied for registration were used to update the details of these voters on the voters’ roll. An inadvertent error allocated a common address to the 174 voters when the given addresses were checked against the ward boundaries. This is normal practice for wards with prospective by-elections. 

Following the Constitutional order in 2016 directing that the voters’ roll must contain addresses of voters where addresses are available, a number of legal interventions have been instituted by the Electoral Commission to ensure the freeness and fairness of elections. The first such intervention is that contestants are given the voters’ roll ahead of a by-election to enable them to inspect its details and to raise objections that must be considered by the Electoral Commission before a by-election. The election timetable regulates time periods for the voters’ roll inspection.  

Additionally, contestants may raise objections on voting day if they can show exceptional circumstances. 

As per the law, contestants were provided copies of the voters’ roll ahead of the by-elections held in George. No objections were lodged within the objection period in terms of the election timetable. 

We urge all political parties and contestants with evidence of suspected malfeasance to approach the Electoral Commission, law enforcement agencies or the Electoral Court. On its part the Electoral Commission remains committed to ensuring free and fair elections.  

The Electoral Commission further urges all eligible South African voters to register for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections. Voters are encouraged to go online – www.elections.org.za – to register or to check their details.  

Finally, the Electoral Commission also warns voters to be aware of fraudulent websites advertising voter registration and job vacancies on behalf of the Electoral Commission. For legitimate job vacancies, visit: http://elections.org.za(link is external) / social media pages: @IECSouthAfrica. Report suspicious messages to info@elections.org.za.

Issued by Independent Electoral Commission