Picture: DAILY DISPATCH FILE
THE Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature (ECPL), in collaboration with them Independent Electoral Commission(IEC), has embarked on a voter education campaign around the province.
This decision was taken because the IEC saw that percentages of people voting in some municipalities were down.
“In some municipalities voters are below 50% and in others slightly above 50% and we want to change that by educating people about the importance of voting and the implications of not voting,” legislature spokesman Velisile Bukula said.
The drives started on June 20 and will carry on until July 25 in a bid to educate citizens to exercise their right to make democracy work.
The voter education campaign is an instrument to enhance public participation as the cornerstone for constitutional democracy. In East London, the drive will be in Mdantsane on July 11 and will confirm the King Williams Town campaign at a later date.
“We are doing the campaign because we want to increase the number of voters inthe 2016 local government elections, through awareness and mobilisation initiatives,” Bukula said.
