South Africa: Electoral commission ‘changes ballot paper’

South Africa’s electoral commission, the IEC, has changed the ballot paper to prevent confusion of colours and logos for parties that look too similar in the upcoming 8 May elections, news site Times Live reports. The IEC says in the past it used a random draw to determine which party comes first on the ballot […]

South Africa’s electoral commission, the IEC, has changed the ballot paper to prevent confusion of colours and logos for parties that look too similar in the upcoming 8 May elections, news site Times Live reports.

The IEC says in the past it used a random draw to determine which party comes first on the ballot paper and then all parties follow in alphabetical order, Times Live says.

However, for the upcoming elections, the IEC appointed the Human Sciences Research Council to look into the usability of the ballot paper and enhance the design.

It concluded that voters could be confused by the similarities of some parties and they should be separated on the ballot paper.