The South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR) has urged correctional facilities nationwide to brace themselves for potential large-scale protests unless fair access to voting is guaranteed.
Inmates across the country express dissatisfaction with the voter registration process facilitated by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for the upcoming elections.
The organisation insists that eligible voters in prisons, who are South African citizens aged 18 and older, should be allowed to cast their votes using their prisoner identification cards.
SAPOHR Spokesperson Golden Miles Bhudu says, “Now, we’re calling on our members who are listening that they have got the right to (protest) peacefully without intimidating anybody, unarmed, to prepare a petition to submit to the Department of Correctional Services, and to embark on peaceful protest action until such time this matter gets to, not only the minister of Correctional Services, but to the President’s office.”
