The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) concluded a two-day engagement seminar on e-voting by saying further extensive discussion of the issues surrounding its implementation was necessary.
The seminar – which was the first of its kind in South Africa – saw parliamentary representatives, delegates from political parties, stakeholders and members of the public examine the pros and cons of implementing electronic voting and counting technologies in South Africa.
The seminar in particular drew on global experiences of e-voting, both in developed and developing countries, considering the reasons for adoption of electronic voter technologies, while also looking into the reasons for some countries having abandoned e-voting in favour of manual methods.
“Our intention with this two-day seminar is to stimulate debate… We are confident that our democracy has reached a level of maturity whereby we can have a healthy, robust
discussion of the complex issues that require consideration before embarking on the
journey of implementing e-voting, should we decide to do so,” explained Terry Tselane, vice-chairperson of the IEC.
Particular emphasis should be placed on investigating the weaknesses of the current manual voting system, according to the IEC, a view which was shared by a number of attendees at the seminar who felt that the current system is successful and does not need changing.
“Given the trustworthiness and efficacy of the current voting system, we need to
be very clear about our reasons for adopting e-voting technology,” said Advocate Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the IEC.
“Of significance would be to assess which aspects of the current system require improvement,” she added.
Other delegates, however, pointed to the preference of the growing youth population in South Africa for electronic solutions, and highlighted the potential of technology to engage with a wider section of the population across the country.
Speaking to HumanIPO in advance of the seminars, Mosotho Moepya, chief electoral officer (CEO) to the IEC, urged caution in rushing to implement electronic voting and counting solutions.
While suggesting the technologies involved would not be difficult to implement on a technical level, he stressed the importance of providing equal opportunities to all members of society, particularly with respect to elections – thus necessitating thorough research into whether an electronic system could be implemented in a transparent and reliable manner.
