Durban - The Electoral Commission of South Africa warned again on Tuesday that the trend of taking pictures of marked ballot papers and distributing them on social networks would not be tolerated.
The commission said the practice, which was popular, particularly among celebrities, was criminal and would attract a heavy fine or imprisonment.
The commission’s KwaZulu-Natal head, Mawethu Mosery, said no one had been arrested or punished for the offence yet, but he promised a tough stance this election.
“The practice is criminalised, it violates the secrecy of the ballot box. There is nothing wrong with taking a photograph carrying a ballot paper, but it is not allowed to show a marked ballot paper,” he said.
Mosery added that voting times had changed. Previously, the commission had allowed voting until 9pm, but this had been brought forward to 7pm.
“It (voting day) will be a public holiday and we do not want people to vote during the night (for safety reasons). We also want to begin the count early.”
Mosery said there were several things voters should take note of.
Areas falling under the eThekwini Metro would have two ballot papers, while the rest of the areas would have three: the white and grey local paper; the yellow PR paper; and the green district municipality paper.
“We urge the communities to come to the voting stations early and make sure that all the papers are stamped in the back.” He urged voters to remember to take their IDs, temporary IDs or smart cards. He said the Department of Home Affairs would be open on the day to allow for the collection of these documents.
Mosery reminded the public that on voting days no protests or rallies were allowed and there was to be no campaigning in the voting stations.
Unless they were visually impaired, people could not bring someone to help them vote - this was the role of the presiding officer at the station.
He said people should avoid spoiling their ballot papers.
“Do not draw anything on the ballot paper - mark your X inside the box next to your party,” he said.
The Mercury