E-Voting in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Modernization
Explore the prospects of e-voting in South Africa through the lens of public attitudes, success cases from other countries, and areas of concern. Discover the potential benefits of e-voting, the existing perceptions towards this technology, and the budget implications associated with its implementation. Delve into the discussion on how e-voting can revolutionize the electoral process in the country and address key societal issues.
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Presentation Transcript
IEC Presentation March 2025 Dr Maxwell M. Maseko
Presentation outline 1. Introduction 2. Benefits of e-voting 3. Public Perceptions/Attitudes toward e-voting 4. Areas of concern 5. Budget/Cost Issues/Implications 6. The way forward
Introduction - Voting in SA is paper-based - Free and fair election - Why tamper with a working system? - Manual voting challenges long queues, vote manipulation, double voting, spoilt ballots etc - Low voter turnout, i.e., eligible youth (18-35) - Modernising electoral process, improving voter experience - Opportunities of e-voting - Technology alone not enough, people-centred, accessible, affordable, engaging, inclusive, transparent, respect privacy, ethical, solve SAn problems
Success Cases - Lessons from Estonia, India, Brazil, Russia and Turkey - 51% electronic votes in 2023 in Estonia, compared to 49% paper votes (World Economic Forum: 2024) - Challenges of cyberattacks in 2007 in Estonia, but pressed ahead - Solid legal framework supporting digital identity systems and voter verification
Setting the scene for e-voting - Potentially increase voter turnout - Must consider socio-economic conditions - Positive stats on online engagement in SA - Lack of trust in political leaders and concerns about corruption - Inclusive e-voting
Public Perceptions/Attitudes toward e-voting - Appetite for e-voting in SA (give examples) - Challenge is convincing public, MPs, civil society, etc, to trust election technology - Universities using the technology to elect SRCs - Trust in IEC is weak (Afrobarometer, 2023) - However, elections are free and fair
Areas of concern - South Africans remain unfamiliar with e-voting technologies - IEC role in voter education and limited budgets - Consider current legislative framework in South Africa - Hacking concerns
Budget/Cost Issues/Implications - Country examples show an expensive exercise - Budget cuts across all departments - No SA study looking at the cost of e-voting
The way forward - No perfect voting system - South Africa is part of the global society, which has become instant and digital (Thakur, 2014) - Legislation that clearly defines and supports e-voting - Emphasis on inclusion of vulnerable communities and training election staff - Role of civil society - SA should rather partially adopt e-voting - Proper monitoring of systems - Support for the IEC from lawmakers, civil society, public, private sector, and large tech companies
