IEC Reports Record Special Vote Applications as It Finalises Election Readiness

Overview

• The IEC approved 2,655,067 special vote applications, more than double the comparable 2021 figure, with most submitted online and the total split between home‑visit and voting‑station special votes.
• Home‑visit applications total 678,525 and are concentrated among older women while voting‑station special votes make up the larger share and skew younger and more gender balanced.
• Ballot printing is over 66% complete of the planned 79 million papers with the IEC targeting production to finish by 18 October and logistics teams moving non‑security materials to municipalities.
• The Election Results System underwent an external audit and contestants’ ICT experts were given access to test it after remedial work, as the IEC finalises Results Operation Centres and staff training.
• The commission has secured all 23,696 voting stations, recruited the bulk of 188,500 election officials, accredited 109 domestic observer groups, and will sign an information‑integrity framework with major platforms to curb disinformation.