The techie’s guide to the South African elections

As South Africa prepares for the municipal election on 3 August, electioneering is in full force.

With all the confusing manifestos and promises, its nice to rely on a familiar “tech comfort-zone” and clear-cut information surrounding the big day.

That’s why we have compiled the ultimate tech user’s guide to voting on 3 August.

Check out the complete guide below:

Doing it online

It has never been easier to vote thanks to the numerous online resources available.

First up you can check out exactly where you are registered to vote thanks to this portal created by the DA.

You can also use the IEC’s SMS portal by SMSing your ID Number to 32810 (this costs R1 an SMS).

Of course it’s also important to find out exactly who is standing in your ward. You can find the official online list (compiled by the IEC) of ward Councillors here.

We also suggest you check out the IEC’s website directly, should you have any burning questions that need answering.

Using your smartphone

The IEC has its own official app which you can download on iOS and Android and lets you check up on pretty much all of the above. It also acts as a news resource and even a social media platform as you can share “key election moments”.

What you definitely shouldn’t do is download the IXSA game which, while we approve of getting younger generations interested in voting, is unplayably bad.

Unfortunately you can’t turn to other distractions either, as selfies and Pokemon GO have effectively been banned on the big day.

How parties actually feel about tech

Chances are you already have a strong idea of how you’re going to vote on 3 August.

While there are a number of vitally important factors to consider, it’s also worth noting that the bigger political parties have a clear policy on where they see ICT sector in South Africa heading.

You can find the biggest political parties’ ICT (Information and Communication Technology) policies (i.e how they feel about IT in South Africa) below: