Sarah so very happy to be interning at the IEC

This study abroad experience continues to surprise me, day in and day out. And I could not be happier having been placed to intern at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). This year is a big one. It marks not only 20 years of democracy, but South Africa’s fifth, presidential election post-apartheid. Furthermore, the national election is declared to be in honor of Nelson Mandela’s legacy. As the country moves forward in this exciting time, there is much work to be done. 

I’ve been fortunate to be working with the Electoral Operations team here in the Western Cape Provincial Office of the IEC. My hosts could not be more welcoming. After only four days of interning, the team included me in their work over Registration II Weekend. This was the final push for voter registration across the country. With over 800 voting stations in the Cape Town region of the Western Cape alone, the operations center was quite busy–receiving political queries, collecting registration statistics, compiling new registrations into the national voter’s roll, ensuring 800 plus stations opened and ran smoothly, answering all incoming calls, and sorting out political protests. The IEC staff worked tirelessly from 6AM to 11PM both Saturday and Sunday. It was throughout this weekend (where office hours were longer than my flight here!) that I really became comfortable with the staff. I was introduced and welcomed by all individually, given work to assist with, and kindly looked out for.  As announced by IEC staff, we had dined, traveled, worked, visited, and laughed together and suddenly I was made family . . . I even found myself dancing with Rachel, the housekeeper.

 

Sarah dancing with Rachel

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the chance to sit in on party-liaison committee meetings, city buildings public use meetings, and educational outreach gatherings. The Provincial Operations Center being constructed to manage the national elections is particularly exciting. Come May 7^th, a community gymnasium will be temporarily transformed with infrastructure into stages, cubicles, office space, seating, and electronic technology. The largest media houses, local radio stations, political party liaisons, catering services, and the electoral operations staff will work under just one roof throughout the voting period.  This past week at my internship also brought excitement; I was able to observe local by-elections (elections held to fill a vacant political office between regular elections) in the Mitchell’s Plains area. The electoral team was testing the use of voting centers, which are essentially larger versions of a traditional voting station. A voting center, by definition, has multiple voting stations (substations), which helps improve traffic flow and reduce queues in places with about 3,000 plus voters. It was neat to observe how the voting process works here in-person, especially after hearing about it for weeks prior to (one fun fact: when you vote, your thumb is marked with ink to help prevent fraudulent, double voting).

On a day-to-day basis here, I am confronted by the contrast of the most beautiful and the most unbeautiful. There is the simple and pure beauty of the landscape, of Ubuntu, of people’s warmth and resilience, and yet the extreme pains of poverty and destructive traces of apartheid still littering the country. A few months ago, I never would have guessed the impact of socioeconomic disparity on voting. Location determines almost everything when it comes to setting up a voting station – whether a tent will be erected or a building used, the amount of South African Police staff during voting hours, the population size due to vote, the handling of cues and traffic flow, and which political parties and media stations are involved, amidst other factors. And more often than not, entire areas tend to lean one way or another in terms of socioeconomic status. This means that a few voting station receive the privilege of air-conditioning and the majority do not. This means that in a poorer, more heavily populated area a cue of 300 people is considered long. But here in Rondebosch, a traditionally wealthier area, a “long” cue might consist of only 9 people. This means that the voting station staff in one area will work until 3 AM counting votes because of high population, where the staff in roomy suburb will work only one or two hours after close. And yet, everyone’s vote counts equally. Everyone deserves the same treatment–respect and human dignity when voting. And all election staff members receive equal pay regardless of place or time.

I never guessed I’d be learning about issues of equality, of human dignity, of socioeconomic status, and of conflict resolution alongside electoral processes. Or that I’d be singing and dancing with the staff. At the very start of this trip, I feared I wouldn’t enjoy my internship. Now I only look forward to it. I have no doubt I will leave knowing more about South African elections than those back at home! And I have the wonderful staff at the IEC to thank.