The non-profit organization Ground Work Collective (GWC) has issued a call to South African citizens who are registered voters and interested in becoming election observers to participate in the upcoming May 29 elections.
With millions of South Africans expected to exercise their voting rights in the 2024 national and provincial elections, GWC emphasizes the importance of maintaining the integrity of the democratic process. This election marks a significant moment as South Africans will also have the opportunity to vote for independent candidates for the first time.
Mbali Ntuli, founder and CEO of Ground Work Collective, urged patriotic citizens to sign up as independent election observers in their respective wards or neighboring wards, emphasizing the vital role they play in safeguarding democracy.
GWC launched its election observation registration portal on Wednesday, providing a platform for interested individuals to register.
Established in 2022, Ground Work Collective comprises a collective of advocates dedicated to addressing various societal challenges and empowering citizens to actively participate in the development of sustainable livelihoods and community upliftment.
This initiative by GWC follows recent criticism of the Democratic Alliance (DA) for seeking intervention from the US government in the upcoming elections. Ntuli affirmed that GWC would provide comprehensive training to all election observers ahead of the polls.
Ntuli outlined the Independent Election Observation’s goal of identifying and training approximately 10,000 individuals to serve as observers. GWC aims to deploy observers to 5,000 out of the 23,296 voting stations nationwide, covering 21% of the voting stations in South Africa. Furthermore, the organization intends to publish a national report based on the observations made during the electoral process.
Interested citizens can register on GWC’s website, with the registration deadline set for April 15.