South African election officials visit prisons trying to register record numbers of inmates to vote

Officials from South Africa’s national electoral commission have visited prisons across the country as part of an ambitious project to register at least 100,000 inmates as voters for this year’s national election

PRETORIA, South Africa -- 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.