IEC holds conference on electronic voting

The Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) e-voting conference has kicked off in Cape Town on Monday.

The three-day seminar is focused on the possibility of South Africa introducing electronic voting.

Several countries, including Estonia, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are in attendance. The countries will advise the IEC on their processes.

The conference will bring together political parties, members of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, corporates in the ICT sphere, government officials, research and development institutions. Representatives of some countries which have implemented electronic voting are also confirmed for participation in this conference. This includes Estonia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Namibia.

The three-day conference will feature a variety of sessions, including presentation of a discussion document on four broad themes, and demonstrations of the latest advancements in e-voting systems. Each session will be anchored by a presentation of key research findings followed by a reply from respondents with knowledge on the relevant theme.

IEC head, Sy Mamabolo, says that for e-voting to be successful in South Africa, every citizen would need access to the internet. He raised concerns over rural areas still without access to digital technology.

The key components of the discussion document includes:

·        Country review of electronic voting including those countries currently using poll-site technologies as well as those who use internet voting. This includes countries that introduced electronic voting but subsequently abandoned it.

·        Key insights from the legislative review indicate that in the event electronic voting is adopted then there would a necessity for legislative amendments.

·        Lessons from two roundtables, which were conducted with academics and representatives of blind persons.

·        Lessons from key informant interviews that were conducted with civil society organizations and election management bodies.

·        Views which were solicited through a public opinion survey.

·        An overall outline of the findings of the studies conducted.

 

Mamabolo says the conference serves as a significant opportunity for South Africans to shape the future of voting in the digital world.

“It is part of the statutory purview of the Commission to conduct research with a view to improving the quality of elections. We must investigate new approaches to improve the electoral process, voter experience, accessibility, and enable cost savings."

“Some of the research findings indicate that there is no common understanding of what e-voting entails. This conference aims not only to reflect on possibilities for implementing e-voting but also to drive common understanding and knowledge of the subject among South Africans. We encourage further conversations and lively debates among South Africans from all walks of life as we have seen happening in some social media platforms recently.”

 

Done by: Mitchum George