The KwaDukuza Organised Residents Alliance (KORA), of which DOCRRA is a keystone member, has made an official submission to the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) as part of the ward delimitation public participation process.
With less than a month’s notice, KORA put together a team of experts to look at the GIS data and analyse the proposed changes in relationship with population size, number of registered voters, and previous election data, amongst other points. They also attended a MDB presentation on the subject held on 12 June at the KwaDukuza Town Hall before making their submission, where there was an opportunity for stakeholders to comment and ask questions. The analysis and final submission were done to ensure that any changes made are done with a view to better serve the voting public rather than with a political bias or gerrymandering agenda.
One of proposed changes will be to enlarge our municipality by incorporating a part of what is presently Ndwedwe Municipality and adding it onto an existing KwaDukuza ward. The other changes relate to the number of registered voters exceeding the upper limits in some of the Ballito voting districts, where some portions will be moved to neighbouring wards to better distribute the number of voters per polling station.
It was noted that many of these delineation changes are subject to the number of polling stations, and the KORA submission addresses this issue, calling for additional polling stations to make it easier for voters on election day.
Overall, the team felt that the process was handled fairly and thoughtfully by the MDB and IEC, both independent and apolitical structures. It was evident that the proposed changes were based on carefully studied data and not marred by political interference.
In addition to the comment on polling stations, KORA also suggested that stakeholders be given a longer period to consider the recommendations of the MDB as significant time and expertise are required to render any informed submission.
DOCRRA wishes to thank all of the KORA team members who quickly and generously gave of their time and knowledge to address this important process.
To read the submission in full, please click here.
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