Voting: Stacey Norman tackles frequently asked questions with Prof Maphunye
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The responsibility to vote is a massive privilege and should not be taken lightly, said Stacey. Prof Maphunye says citizens must educate themselves about the candidates and the issues at hand:
"It’s not just about a face on the poster; it's about the people who are sitting in those seats and best representing you as an individual."
Stacey asked one last question: “If you do not vote, be it a spoilt vote or you left the voting station after arrival. Do those count as nothing? Is it zero, null and void?”
“Yes, it is zero. It gets a bit complicated as it depends on the technicalities and the nitty gritty of the electoral system of the country. There is something that they normally call the remainder. In our country, they do, to some extent, use that kind of system whereby after a certain candidate or political party has achieved a certain number of ballots, the remaining ballots which are not able to be turned into seats for that party or candidate (now we will see how it will work out for candidates) sometimes are reallocated. You know, it's called reallocation. They are reallocated to parties that would be having a majority number of ballots,” said Maphunye.
He explained that this system is very technical for voters but this is what happens. Prof Maphunye urged voters to do their research not just on political parties but also on the nature of our electoral system.
"It’s not just about a face on the poster; it's about the people who are sitting in those seats and best representing you as an individual."
Stacey asked one last question: “If you do not vote, be it a spoilt vote or you left the voting station after arrival. Do those count as nothing? Is it zero, null and void?”
“Yes, it is zero. It gets a bit complicated as it depends on the technicalities and the nitty gritty of the electoral system of the country. There is something that they normally call the remainder. In our country, they do, to some extent, use that kind of system whereby after a certain candidate or political party has achieved a certain number of ballots, the remaining ballots which are not able to be turned into seats for that party or candidate (now we will see how it will work out for candidates) sometimes are reallocated. You know, it's called reallocation. They are reallocated to parties that would be having a majority number of ballots,” said Maphunye.
He explained that this system is very technical for voters but this is what happens. Prof Maphunye urged voters to do their research not just on political parties but also on the nature of our electoral system.