“Voters are reminded that it is prohibited to take a photograph or “selfie” of their marked ballot paper. This is essential to protect the secrecy and integrity of their vote and the process,” said IEC chief electoral officer Mosotho Moepya at the national results operations centre in Tshwane.
“We encourage voters to rather take a picture of their marked thumb to show they have voted and to post these on social media with the hashtag #iVoted to encourage further participation.”
Deputy chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said that taking pictures of the ballot papers presented several problems.
“What is the commission trying to do by prohibiting the taking of selfies of the marked ballots? It is to ensure that there is no abuse of power relations either within the households, within the employment situation and also within the cultural context where husbands may demand wives to produce selfies of their marked ballot,” said Mamabolo.
“This is therefore a measure to safeguard the secrecy of the vote, especially for those that are vulnerable in society. Power relations are not equal in society and this is an equaliser. The issue of selfies is not a gratuitous interference with people using their cellphones.”
