Module 4

Right to Vote & Citizenship

SUBJECT CONTENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Citizenship Explain who has the right to Citizenship in SA

Right to Vote Explain Who has the Right to Vote in SA

Registration of Voters Explain how Voters are registered & the

Division of Voters Regions
Candidates for Voters Regions
Disqualification of Voters
Explain how voters regions are divided.
Explain Who may be Candidates as well as How they
can be Disqualified
SUBJECT CONTENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Voting Systems Explain the FIVE voting systems

Voting Day Explain arrangements, administration and procedures

on voting day
 Citizenship
Qualification for Republic of South Africa Citizenship

• By Birth
• By Descent
• By Naturalization
• By Registration
 Citizenship C’td
By Birth

According to the Citizenship Act of 1995:

……Any person born in South Africa, with at least one South African
parent or at least one parent who was a SA citizen OR a South African
permanent resident.
 Citizenship C’td
By Descent

According to the Citizenship Act of 1995:

……born outside of South Africa from a SA citizen, OR, were adopted by

a SA citizen you can qualify for citizenship by descent.
 Citizenship C’td
By Naturalization

According to the Citizenship Act of 1995:

You qualify as long as you comply with Section 5 pf the SA Citizenship

Act of 1995:
• Valid permanent residence permit or exemption
• As permanent residence holder you have had one year’s residence in
SA immediately prior to application
 Citizenship C’td
• Valid permanent residence permit or exemption
• As permanent residence holder you have had one year’s residence in
SA immediately prior to application
• An additional 4 years in SA required after becoming permanent
resident
• Or married to a South African spouse
• You are of good character
• You can communicate in any of the official languages of SA
 Citizenship C’td
By Registration

According to the Citizenship Act of 1995:

This section applies to a British Citizen who lived in South Africa for at
least two years immediately prior to 2 September 1949
 The Right to Vote
Which South Africans Have the Right to Vote ?
• South African Citizens
• Citizens over the age of 18
• Must be registered on the Voter’s Roll
• Must have ID document
• Must be a permanent resident of SA
• Child of a citizen from before new constitution and now a permanent resident
• Person in country since 31 December 1978
• Person not affected by any disqualifications
 Disqualification from Voting
Who may not Qualify to Vote ?
• Illegal immigrants
• Person declared of unsound mind/mentally disturbed by a court
• Person who has been put in an institution for the mentally insane
• Person serving a prison sentence without option of a fine
• Person who has incurred a heavy fine or imprisonedafter been proven
guilty of illegal action negatively influencing the voting system.
• Child of a citizen from before new constitution and now a permanent
resident
 Elections

Elections are held every 5 Years. Date of elections is published in the government
gazette between 60 – 90 days before the elections.

There are two types of elections:

1. National & Provincial Elections : using proportional representation.
2. Local Government (Municipal) Elections: using both proportional & constituency-
based representation.

They are not held at the same time. Separated by 2 years.

 Division of Voters Regions in Local
Government Elections

Each province has an institution called the Municipal Demarcation

Board (MDB) that has the responsibility to divide up the wards that
make-up the municipalities.

Voting takes place by ward to elect a representative of the ward, the

Ward Councillor. The ward councillors elected make up 60% of the
Municipal Council. The other 40% are the Proportional Representative
Councillors (PR). They have no constituency but represent the winning
party on basis of percentage of votes.
 Elections Candidates
Who Qualifies for Voters to Elect as Candidates ?
• South Africa citizens
• Must not have been disqualified from voting
• People employed in the civil service
• Staff members of educational institutions & health institutions who
stand as candidates must take leave from work from the day they are
nominated until the day the nomination lists are published in the
Government Gazette.
 Political Parties

Aim of Political Parties

• A meeting place for people who share same values & think the same
• To influence and change the opinion of the electorate
• To win votes & elections in order to become the majority party
 Political Parties C’td
Advantages of Political Parties
• People (electorate) have the opportunity to express themselves in an
organised way.
• Can bring positive change in society
• Can give electorate information to make informed choices
• Can bring new people into the electoral system as voters
• Can make and keep promises to make people’s lives better
• Political parties that do not win can be watchdogs of the majority
party to ensure they do thing properly
 Political Parties C’td

• As a political party gains power they are forced to keep in touch with
the electorate.
 Political Parties C’td
Disadvantages of Political Parties
• The most competent/best people in the party may not be elected.
• Political parties sometimes forget the promises they made to the
electorate
• Political campaigning with all its fancy words & advertising can make
the electorate choose wrong people
• Political parties sometimes step out of their core business and interfere
in things that are not their business like religion, culture, sports &
various social matters
• Popularity of candidates does not mean they are the best people.
 Administration of Elections
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) administers elections.
The Tasks of the IEC is ?
• To administer, organise, supervise & conduct all elections.
• To take steps to prevent intimidation of voters, candidates & parties.
• To educate the electorate about democratic principles & values, the
electoral process, the right to free & fair elections.
• To submit monthly reports.
• To hear appeals & make decisions about deviations
• To declare results of elections
 Voting (Electoral Systems) Systems

Democratic States use either of TWO types of electoral systems:

1. Single-Member Constituency-Based System

2. Multi-Member Proportional-Based System
 Voting (Electoral Systems) Systems C’td
Single-Member Constituency-Based System

In this system every voter in their constituency (the local area they live
in e.g. Ward 46) to elect on individual person. In this system the winner
of this vote becomes a Member of Parliament (MP). The political party
with the most MPs in parliament will form the government of the
country.
The MP holds the seat in Parliament/Government, not the political
party they belong to. This system is used in the United States of
America, Canada & New Zealand.
 Voting (Electoral Systems) Systems C’td
Multi-Party Proportional Representation System
In this system the electorate in a large country will vote for political
parties and the ideologies (principles) the parties stand for. The party
will decide which individual in the party will become MPs. Each party
receives a number of seats in parliament proportional to the
percentage of votes they received (the majority votes get most seats in
parliament).
 Voting (Electoral Systems) Systems C’td

South Africa uses a combination of both electoral systems:

1. National & provincial elections use a proportional representation
system.
2. Local government elections use a mixture constituency-based
(wards) and proportional representation (PR councilors).
 Voting Stations

A voting station is a place where people cast their vote. These are
usually schools or community halls well-known to the local community.

They cannot be places usually used by political parties, police of the

defence force.
 Voting Materials
The materials used to conduct an election you will find in a Voting
Station are:
• Polling Booth : where you vote in secrecy
• Ballot Boxes: where you put your completed ballot paper
• Copies of Voting Lists: at the voting table where you check the Voters
Roll to see if your name is on.
• Ballot Papers: where you mark which political party you will vote for.
• Indelible Ink: where your thumb will be marked with ink to show that
you have voted to avoid people voting more than once.
 Voting Materials C’td
• Stationary: pens, rulers and writing material need for voting
• Shredding Machine: if any ballot is incorrectly filled in it will be
destroyed in the paper shredding machine.
• First Aid/Emergency Equipment: as many people gather at voting
stations, including elderly, it is important to have emergency
equipment in case anything happens to a voter.