Eskom says it’s illegal to put up election posters on its infrastructure

Eskom says it is illegal to put up election posters on its structures, which threatens life.

South Africa is heading to the polls on 29 May, and political parties are putting up posters nationwide for their campaigns.

IT IS ILLEGAL TO PLACE ELECTION POSTERS ON ESKOM STRUCTURES 

Eskom said in the past, there had been incidents where people were electrocuted and shocked when putting up election posters, and this includes electricity poles, electricity towers, metre boxes, and mini substations.

The power utility said electricity is invisible to the naked eye, and the risk is that when someone gets close to or touches them, it may result in an inadvertent flash-over or electrical contact. Subsequently, this can cause severe injuries to the person or even be fatal.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and African National Congress (ANC) posters for the 2019 National and Provincial Elections. Image: Shutterstock.

Furthermore, Eskom emphasised that only authorised personnel can climb or work on the aforementioned electrical structures.

“Attaching posters to an electrical structure is not only a contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (No. 85 of 1993) but also puts the lives of your valuable employees, members of the public and volunteers at risk,” the power utility further warned.

IEC READY TO PRINT BALLOT PAPERS

Following the finalisation of the candidate lists, the Electoral Commission said it ready to proceed with the printing of ballot papers for the elections.

As previously reported by The South African, there will be three ballot papers a voter will get on voting day:

• National Compensatory ballot -This ballot is the same across the entire country. It features political parties only, contesting for seats in the National Assembly.
• National Regional ballot – This one is specific to your voting region and includes candidates running for the National Assembly who represent your area.
• Provincial Legislature ballot – This ballot is also unique to one’s province and includes parties and independent candidates competing for seats in the provincial legislature.