Deputy presiding officer removed for allowing agent to help move special votes

The Electoral Commission of SA has removed a deputy Presiding Officer who allowed a party agent to assist in transferring special votes from a voting station in Ekurhuleni.

The incident happened in Benoni on Monday and in a video circulating online, a man wearing a blue shirt is seen holding a ballot box while the deputy presiding officer moves special votes in their double envelopes from a ballot bag used during home visits to a ballot box in the voting station.

The IEC in a statement confirmed it had removed the officer following an investigation into the video. 

The commission also explained that: “The transfer of the special votes from bags to ballot boxes is normal procedure. Ballot bags are used to collect special votes during home visits as ballot boxes are impractical for home visits. At the end of the day of home visits, the special votes collected are then transferred to a