Electoral Act, 1998 (Act No. 73 of 1998)

Chapter 7 : General Provisions

Part 1 : Prohibited conduct

87. Undue influence

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(1)No person may—
(a)compel or unlawfully persuade any person—
(i)to register or not to register as a voter;
(ii)to vote or not to vote;
(iii)to vote or not to vote for any registered party or candidate;
(iv)to support or not to support any registered party or candidate; or
(v)to attend and participate in, or not to attend and participate in, any political meeting, march, demonstration or other political event;
(b)interfere with the independence or impartiality of the Commission, any member, employee or officer of the Commission, or the chief electoral officer;
(c)prejudice any person because of any past, present or anticipated performance of a function in terms of this Act;
(d)advantage, or promise to advantage, a person in exchange for that person not performing a function in terms of this Act;
(e)prevent any of the following persons from gaining reasonable  access to voters, whether in a public or private place:
(i)Any representative of a registered party or of a candidate;
(ii)any candidate in an election;
(iii)any member, employee or officer of the Commission;
(iv)the chief electoral officer;
(v)any person appointed by an accredited observer;
(vi)any person accredited to provide voter education;
(f)unlawfully prevent the holding of any political meeting, march, demonstration or other political event;
(g)use public funds, except for the funds allocated to a party in terms of section 5 of the Public Funding of Represented Political Parties Act, 1997 (Act No. 103 of 1997), for the purpose of a political campaign.

[Section 87(1) substituted by section 16 of Notice No. 23, GG 42176, dated 21 January 2019 (Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 2019 (Act No. 1 of 2019)) - effective 6 March 2019 (Proclamation No. 11 of 2019)]

 

(2)Subject to  this Act, no person may prevent anyone from exercising a right conferred by this Act.

 

(3)No person, knowing that another person is not entitled to be  as a voter, may—
(a)persuade that other person that that other person is entitled to be registered as a voter; or
(b)represent to anyone else that that other person is entitled to be registered as a voter.

 

(4)No person, knowing that another person is not entitled to vote, may—
(a)assist, compel or persuade that other person to vote; or
(b)represent to anyone else that that other person is entitled to vote.