The Constitution gives everyone who is 18 years or older the right to vote in secret in elections. The Electoral Amendment Act (No 34 of 2003) says a person who is a South African citizen, has a bar-coded ID, and is 16 years old can apply to register as a voter. Their name can only be placed on the voter’s roll once they reach the age of 18 years.

NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS

South Africa’s national and provincial elections take place every five years.

Voters vote for a political party or an independent. The political party then gets a share of seats in parliament in direct proportion to the number of votes it got in the election. Each party then decides on members to fill the seats it has won. This is called a proportional representation (PR) voting system. Independents win a seat by getting the quota of votes needed for one seat. 

Democratic national and provincial elections have taken place every five years starting in 1994.

Voters are registered to a voting district (VD) and appear on the voter’s roll only at the voting station in that voting district. Special votes are allowed before elections for people who are travelling outside the country or voting district on election day or those who are disabled, infirm, elderly, or heavily pregnant. Prisoners are allowed to vote in national and provincial elections.

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Municipal elections take place every five years. A mixed or hybrid system of both the ward system (a constituency system) and the proportional representation (PR) system, is used for municipal elections. The first democratic municipal elections took place in 1995/6, and the first municipal elections run by the IEC took place in 2000.

There are 3 types of Municipal Councils in South Africa:

1. Category A: Metropolitan Councils

2. Category B: Local Councils (LC)

3. Category C: District Councils (DC) (have executive and legislative powers in areas that include local municipalities)

For metropolitan municipalities, there are 2 types of elections and ballots:

1. Metropolitan Council ward ballot with individual’s names, to elect one ward councillor in each ward, and
2. Metropolitan Council proportional representation ballot with party names

In all local municipalities other than metropolitan municipalities, there are 3 types of elections and ballots:

1. Local Council ward
2. Local Council proportional representation
3. District Council proportional representation

MUNICIPAL BY-ELECTIONS

By-elections take place within 90 days after a municipal ward council seat becomes vacant due to a ward councillor’s death, expulsion or resignation.

SPECIAL VOTES: MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

A special vote allows a registered voter, who can’t vote at their voting station on election day, to apply to vote on special vote days before election day.