Global Initiative to Enfranchise People with Disabilities: South Africa - www.electionaccess.org
Back to Africa  
  Best Practices: IFES and other groups have implemented innovative practices around the world.
Laws and Regulations: A country-by-country analysis of election laws, constitutions and regulations, and how these affect citizens with disabilities.     Publications  
   
   

South Africa

General Right to Vote
Constitution
(1996, last amended 2009)

  • Section 19, subsection (2) states, “Every citizen has the right to free, fair and regular electiosn for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution.”
  • Section 19, subsection (3) states, "Every adult citizen has the right (a) to vote in elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution, and to do so in secret; and (b) to stand for public office and, if elected, to hold office."

Electoral Law
Electoral Act 73 of 1998
(1998, last amended 2003)

  • Section 6, subsection (1) states, “Any South African citizen in possession of an identity document may apply for registration as a voter.”

Specific Inclusion of People with Disabilities
Constitution
(1996, last amended 2009)

  • Section 9, subsection (3) states, "The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including...disability..."

Exclusion Based on Intellectual Disability
Constitution
(1996, last amended 2009)

  • Section 47, subsection (1) states, "Every citizen who is qualified to vote for the National Assembly is eligible to be a member of the Assembly, except...(d) anyone declared to be of unsound mind by a court of the Republic..."
  • Section 106, subsection (1) states, “Every citizen who is qualified to vote for the National Assembly is eligible to be amember of the provincial legislature, except – (d) anyone declared to be of unsound mind by a court of the Republic.”

Electoral Law
Electoral Act 73 of 1998
(1998, last amended 2009)

  • Section 8, subsection (2) states, “The chief electoral officer may not register that person as a voter if that person- (c) has been declared by the High Court to be of unsound mind or mentally disorderd.”

Election Guides
Local Government Elections Regulations Guide
(1995)

  • Section 1.5 states, “Even if satisfying the qualifications in paragraph 1.1 above anyone who is: (i) declared by a court to be of unsound mind or mentally disordered or affected...is not entitled to be included in the voters’ roll.”

Voter Assistance
Electoral Law
Electoral Act 73 of 1998
(1998, last amended 2003)

  • Section 33, subsection (1) states, “The Commission must allow a person to apply for a special vote if that person cannot vote at a voting station in the voting district in which the person is registered as a voter, due to that person’s- (a) physical infirmity or disability, or pregnancy”
  • Section 39, subsection (1) states, “The presiding officer of a voting officer, at the request of a voter who is unable to read, must assist that voter in voting in the presence of- (a) a person appointed in terms of section 85 by an accredited observer, if available; and (b) two agents from different parties, if available.”
  • Section 39, subsection (2) states, “A person may assist a voter in voting if- (a) the voter requires assistance due to a physical disability, including blindness or other visual impairment; (b) the voter has requested to eb assisted by that person; and (c) the presiding officer is satisfied that the person rendering assistance has attained the age of 18 years and is not an agent or candidate.”
  • Section 39, subsection (3) states, “The secrecy of voting contemplated in section 38 must be preserved as far as possible in the application of this section.”

Election Guides and Manuals
Election Administration Manual
(1995)

  • Section 3 states, “No election official shall, without due authority...3.5 Go into a voting compartment, except when specifically instructed to check its contents and it has no voter inside, or when lawfully helping an illiterate, blind or disabled voter.”
  • Section 5 states, “Every election officer in the course of his or her duty shall with courtesy, impariality and due regard to the dignity, confidence and apparent needs of a voter: 5.9 Inform any voter who is blind, illiterate, infirm or disabled, or who requires a translator, that such voter may get assistance from an election officer and direct the voter to that officer or where appropriate, direct that officer to the voter.”
  • Section 6 states, “Any election officer who is appointed to assist a voter who is blind, illiterate, infirm or disabled shall do so only to the extent requested by such voter and with due regard to the right of such voter to choose to mark or otherwise deal with his or her ballot paper or papers personally and in secret.”

Off-Site Voting
Electoral Laws
Election Regulations
(2004, last amended 2008)

  • Section 6, subsection (1) states, "In this chapter the procedure for applying for special votes and the procedures for the casting and counting of special votes are prescribed as required by section 33(2) of the [Electoral] Act, read with subregulation (2), in respect of persons who cannot vote at a voting station in the voting district in which they are registered due to their (a) physical infirmity or disability, or pregnancy..."
  • Section 7 details the procedures for a pregnant woman, disabled persons, or person with an infirmity who wish to vote by special vote in the district in which they are registered.
  • Section 8 details the procedures for pregnant women, disabled persons, or persons with an infirmity who wish to vote by special vote in a district in which they are not registered.

Regulations Concerning the Registration of Voters
(1998, last amended 2005)

  • Section 2, subsection (1) states, “A person who applies for registration as a voter must comopelte an pplication form similar to Appendix 1 and – (b) a person who is by reason of physical disability unable to travel to a place so identified, may, by means of an application made on a form similar to Appendix 2, apply to the municipal electoral officer to be visited by a registration officer to whome he or she may then in person submit the application form for registration as a voter and his or her identitiy document.”
  • Section 3 states, “A registered voter or a person who has applied for registration as a voter and whose name or ordinary place of residence has changed, and who must apply to have that change recorded in the voters’ roll or application form, msut do so by completing an application form similar to Appendix 5 and – (c) if he or she is, because of a physical disability, unable to travel to such an office, causing the application form to be submitted to an official at the office of a municipal electoral officer by someone else who must, when doing so, submit his or her own identity document to the official.”

 
 
  Laws and Regulations: A country-by-country analysis of election laws, constitutions and regulations, and how these affect citizens with disabilities.
   Rights and Standards: IFES and other groups have drafted global standards on the electoral rights of citizens with disabilities.
   Best Practices: IFES and other groups have implemented innovative practices around the world.
  Publications
   Contacts and Links