Election officials in South Africa rush to register 100,000 prisoners to vote

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South African election officials have visited prisons across the country as part of an ambitious project to register at least 100,000 inmates to vote in this year's national election.

The country's constitution guarantees every adult citizen the right to vote — meaning there are no restrictions on prisoners taking part in elections, a stark contrast to most other African nations.

The date for the vote has not yet been announced, but it's expected to be held between May and August.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa hopes to register a record number of inmates in the 240 correctional facilities across the country as voters.

Around 15,000 prisoners voted in the last national election in 2019.

South Africa has about 157,000 inmates currently in prison, according to authorities.

The country struggles with one of the highest crime rates in the world.

The commission said that though it was concluding its visit to all 240 prisons by the end of Thursday, it still could not say how many prisoners countrywide had registered.

At the all-male Zonderwater Correctional Centre on the outskirts of the capital, Pretoria, prisoners in orange uniforms lined up Thursday in a hall to register as first-time voters or update their details on electoral rolls if they have been recently incarcerated.

Guards kept a close watch. A banner with the words “Ensuring Free and Fair Elections” was pinned to a prison wall.

Other inmates ignored the process, chatting to each other or getting on with their work preparing lunch in the cafeteria.

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