EC head ‘amazed’ at pencil use
PREGA GOVENDER and NIVASHNI NAIR Published:Apr 22, 2009
The ballot papers are taken out of the box in front of counting staff of the IEC, party agents and other observers. There really isn’t an opportunity for people to sit with erasers and make changes
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IEC chairman Brigalia Bam has expressed amazement at the news that some voters in KwaZulu-Natal had been given pencils with which to vote - because it was cheaper than pens.
# Pencils used to vote not pens
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Bam acknowledged receiving reports of voting stations in the province using pencils instead of pens in KwaZulu Natal.
But she said she was "amazed" because the Commission had issued sufficient pens for voters.
IEC chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula had earlier told the Sunday Times that it had issued 4.5 million ballpoint pens.
Bam said while there were no regulations regarding the use of pencils, the IEC would look at banning their use in the next elections.
She said a ballot paper with a partially erased cross would be regarded as a spoilt ballot.
KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial electoral officer Mawethu Mosery said this morning that it was fine for people to make their cross with pencil. He dismissed concerns that the use of pencils increased the chance of fraud, and said voters should ensure their marks were clearly visible.
"The reason pencils were used for this election is because they were less expensive," said Mosery.
However, if people wanted to carry their own pens and use them at voting stations, they could do so, he said.
IEC Western Cape electoral officer Courtney Sampson confirmed pencils and pens were being used at polling stations in the province.
"It is irrelevant whether a pen or pencil is used," he said. "The ballot papers are taken out of the box in front of counting staff of the IEC, party agents and other observers. There really isn’t an opportunity for people to sit with erasers and make changes."
Sampson added that people could take their own pens if they preferred to vote in ink.
Sampson said pencils were a common feature in elections and have been used by South African voters since 1999.
Meanwhile, Bam also assured voters that the IEC had plans in place to deal with a shortage of ballot papers.
The Democratic Alliance had earlier reported shortages of ballot papers and ballot boxes in several problems.
Bam said in the event that a station ran out of voting material, the presiding officers would immediately call the commission’s provincial office for more supplies, and that there was transport on stand-by specifically for that purpose.
"I am absolutely sure by now that all of them (voting stations that had run out of papers) have ballot papers," she said.
Kinda impractical.