Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs 27 January 2009

1. 1 Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs27 January 2009

2. 2 Contents Annual Report 2007 / 2008 Financial Statements 2007 / 2008 Preparations for the 2009 national and provincial elections Voter registration

3. 3 Annual Report 2007 / 2008

4. 4 Vision and Mission Vision To strengthen constitutional democracy through the delivery of free and fair elections in which every voter is able to record his or her informed choice. Mission The Electoral Commission is a permanent body created by the Constitution to promote and safeguard democracy in South Africa. Although publicly funded and accountable to Parliament, the Commission is independent of the government. Its immediate task is the impartial management of free and fair elections at all levels of government.

5. 5 Legislative Mandate In terms of Section 190 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), the Electoral Commission must a. manage elections of national, provincial and municipal legislative bodies in accordance with national legislation; b. ensure that those elections are free and fair; and declare the results of those elections within a period that must be prescribed by national legislation and that is as short as reasonably possible. The duties and functions of the Electoral Commission are defined in section 5 of the Electoral Commission Act, 1996. These include to a. compile and maintain a voters' roll by means of a system of registering eligible voters by utilising data available from government sources and information furnished by voters;

6. 6 Legislative Mandate (cont.) compile and maintain a register of parties; undertake and promote research into electoral matters; d. develop and promote the development of electoral expertise and technology in all spheres of government; e. continuously review electoral legislation and proposed electoral legislation, and to make recommendations in connection therewith; f. promote voter education; g. declare the results of elections for national, provincial and municipal legislative bodies within seven days after such elections; and h. appoint appropriate public administrations in any sphere of government to conduct elections when necessary.

7. 7 Strategic Objectives 1 Entrenching the Commission as a focal point for the delivery of free and fair elections in the most efficient and cost effective manner 2 Maintaining an optimal network of voting districts and voting stations for elections to ensure reasonable access by voters and to maintain an accurate and up-to-date national common voters roll 3 Informing civil society with a view to maximising citizen participation in democracy and electoral processes, and to manage elections 4 Enabling and promoting the effective participation of political parties and independent ward candidates in electoral processes

8. 8 Strategic Objectives (cont.) 5 Maintaining and consolidating organisational systems and infrastructure for efficient delivery of elections 6 Developing and maintaining effective business processes in respect of financial management, information and communication technology, corporate services, legal services, and communication in order to ensure the effective functioning of the Commission 7 Offering continuous structured training to officials to facilitate the effective functioning of the organisation, including a fluent and effective electoral process 8 Positioning the human capital within the organisation for effective delivery of elections and making the Commission the employer of choice

9. 9 Strategic objective 1: Entrenching the Commission as a focal point for the delivery of free and fair elections in the most efficient and cost effective manner The Commission is involved in ongoing liaison with other Chapter 9 institutions. We exceeded our target for liaisons with other EMBs and observed 4 elections on the African continent alone, in line with our target.

10. 10 Strategic objective 1 (cont.): Celebrations to mark 10th anniversary of establishment of IEC (in July 1997) Liaisons with other Chapter 9 institutions ongoing Elections conducted throughout country for more than 60 other institutions

11. 11 Elections for other institutions

12. 12 Elections for other institutions (cont.)

13. 13 Elections for other institutions (cont.)

14. 14 Elections for other institutions (cont.)

15. 15 Strategic objective 1 (cont.): International Liaison Participation in activities of International IDEA, AU, and SADC ECF Liaisons with other Election Management Bodies Technical assistance to the Comoros, Nigeria, and the DRC Observer missions: Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, East Timor, Australia, the Gambia Hosted delegations from Malaysia, Malawi, the Gambia, Nepal, Maldives, Tanzania, Sudan, Ghana

16. 16 Strategic objective 2: Maintaining an optimal network of voting districts and voting stations for elections to ensure reasonable access by voters and to maintain an accurate and up-to-date national common voters’ roll The Commission recorded 20 291 743 registered voters on the voters’ roll, which was below the target for the period. The decrease in the number of voter registrations was mainly due to deaths. The voter registration campaigns ahead of the 2009 elections will result in more increases to the voters’ roll.

17. 17 Strategic objective 2 (cont): Voters’ roll compiled in terms of the Electoral Act (1998) Continuous voter registration at MEO offices Targeted communication and registration Verification against the National Population Register

18. 18 Registration statistics

19. 19 Voter registration by municipality