As South Africans head to the polls today, the South African Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) recently launched 2 free apps ahead of the elections, to aid transparency and openness of the entire process.
The first app is simply called IEC South Africa, and is available on 7 platforms – Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Nokia Store and even the good old Symbian.
According to the app description, voters will be able to use this app to view registration status and details, find a voting station (complete with map and navigation), read FAQs, keep up to date with the IEC via social media and even view election results in real-time.
As there are no geographical limitations, I was able to download the app from the Play Store. But I can’t test out most of the features for obvious reasons – no voter’s ID.
The second app is called IXSA and is available only on Android and iOS. It takes the form of an educational 3D game that gives oldies and newbies alike a virtual experience of a typical election day. Voters can create new avatars or login with their Facebook profiles. They are taken through a series of missions and challenges and awarded points for how knowledgeable they are. They can also play against other friends and share their scores on leaderboards.
To ensure even greater transparency, IEC South Africa has also released an API on Github so interested parties can access election data in real-time, for use on their proprietary platforms.
Photo credit: calico182 via Flickr
