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The Electoral Commission said it will host public engagements in Cape Town next week on the prospect of electronic voting in elections.
The IEC said that it will host a three-day e-voting conference from 10 to 12 March.
“This conference will serve as a pivotal platform for initiating a public conversation about the possibility of introducing electronic voting sometime in the future.
“The conference is based on research commissioned by the Commission and undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC),” the IEC said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Commission said the research study produced a discussion document which navigates all crucial aspects related to electronic voting and implications for South Africa.
The document will be launched at the conference and will be published on its website afterward.
IEC CEO, Sy Mamabolo, said the conference serves as a significant opportunity for South Africans to shape the future of voting in the digital world.
“It is part of the statutory purview of the Commission to conduct research with a view to improving the quality of elections.
“We must investigate new approaches to improve the electoral process, voter experience, accessibility, and enable cost savings," he said.
Mamabolo said some of the research findings indicate that there is no common understanding of what e-voting entails.
The three-day conference will feature a variety of sessions, including presentation of a discussion document on four broad themes, and demonstrations of the latest advancements in e-voting systems
