Carolynne Franklin, Ward 71 deputy branch chair and aspirant ward councillor candidate .
With all of the vaccine registration information flying around it is easy to overlook the importance of another type of registration – one that will determine the quality of our local service delivery for the next five years.
Covid has hit local municipal services hard and the ongoing crime waves where infrastructure is stolen or damaged exacerbates the issues that we face daily.
It is because of this that we need to ensure that we are active citizens, playing our part in electing fit- for- purpose ward councillors and political parties to run our cities.
Due to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) changing the ward boundaries, in an attempt to even out the numbers on voting day, it is incumbent upon every eligible voter to check our registration details and confirm that we know where to vote this year. The IEC also insists that we vote at the voting station assigned to us by their system, and not where it suits us on the day. This may mean that even though you may have voted at, for example, Tokai Community Church for years, you may now have been assigned Kirstenhof Primary School at which to vote on Wednesday October 27.
The IEC has also advised that 2.5 million people are incorrectly registered due to having moved or having been incorrectly captured. If you have moved into, or out of a street in the last three years please update your address details too.
All over 18s are eligible to vote so they also need to register to make their voices heard. New registrations can’t be done online so they need to be encouraged to visit their nearest voting station on Saturday or Sunday July 17 and 18. These will be advertised on social media, in local newspapers, by political party databases, and by IEC signs on the day.
It is my experience that our community is filled with residents who care deeply about our surroundings, our security, our open spaces, and efficient service delivery.
It is vital that we make our voices heard by voting on October 27 and the time to set this up is now.
All address changes can be made online at https://www.elections.org.za
