By Lebone Rodah Mosima
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has approved 2,655,067 special-vote applications for the November 4 local government elections, a 131% increase from the 1,147,759 approved for the 2021 elections.
Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said on Wednesday that applications opened on September 21 and closed at 5pm on October 12.
Special votes are divided into two categories: home visits for voters unable to travel to voting stations because of physical infirmity or disability, and voting-station visits for those who can attend their stations but cannot vote on Election Day.
The IEC approved 678,525 home-visit applications, up from 507,407 in 2021, an increase of 171,118, or 33.7%. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number in this category, with 143,714.
Voting-station-based special-vote applications rose to 1,976,542 from 602,850 in 2021, an increase of 1,373,692, or 227.9%. Gauteng recorded the highest number, with 391,589.
“Most applications, 2,426,066, came through online
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