WALLIS AJ
perform its statutory obligation and ensure that the voter is registered in the correct
voting district and hence, for the purpose of municipal elections, in the correct ward.
In almost all cases this will be relatively easy but in some instances it will present
challenges. It is the IEC’s responsibility to resolve those challenges.
[67]
The IEC is well aware of these obligations and the challenges that accompany
them. It provides its officials with a manual instructing them on how to proceed when
registering voters.
They are charged with ensuring that the registration form is
properly completed and that all the required information is completed. In regard to
the provision of addresses the manual reads as follows:
“Check that the address is complete
-
For urban addresses: does it have a street name and number, suburb, town or
flat name and number
-
For rural addresses: does it have a village/farm name and plot number where
applicable
-
Is the spelling of street name, suburb, farm name etc. correct and consistent?
…
-
Residential addresses are required to be completely filled in, including street
numbers and postal codes (where applicable), as well as contact details”.
This is followed by an injunction that clearly relates to section 8(3) of the
Electoral Act. If the addresses provided on the REC 1 form59 fall outside the voting
district in which registration is being applied for, and the applicant insists on being
registered in that voting district the IEC official is obliged to issue a notification of
refusal form. In other words they are obliged to refuse to register the voter in that
voting district. This demonstrates that any belief on the part of the IEC and its
officials that they have no option but to register as a voter in any particular ward
everyone who seeks registration in that ward, whether or not entitled to it, is incorrect.
59
Appendix 1 to the Regulations Concerning the Registration of Voters. See above n 42.
36