Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
2 February 2024 | 10:00 CAT
2 min read

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) urges voters to verify their registration details before the final registration weekend of February 3rd and 4th, 2024.

The Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo, briefed the media on Wednesday about preparations for registration. He emphasised that voters must cast their ballot at the designated voting station where they are registered.

The IEC has praised the voter registration roll, which has now exceeded 27 million people.

The Commission’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Akhtari Henning, stated that the commission recorded just under 200,000 new registrations since the registration weekend in November last year.

“We have embarked on targeted registrations, going to schools and universities to try and increase the numbers of the 18+ age group voter registrations. 55% are female registrations. We identified 6.7 million people aged between 30 and 39 registered to vote thus far,” said Hennings.

The IEC reported the online registration platform had been the mainstay for registrations in between general registration weekends.

“We have seen an increase in younger people registering online. But online registrations are dependent on accessibility; which is why we are looking for modes and modalities to make the online process more accessible to people,” said Henning.

Mamabolo reported that the Gauteng province had 6.3 million voter registrations, KwaZulu-Natal had 5.5 million, Eastern Cape had 3.3 million, Western Cape had 3.2 million, Mpumalanga had 1.9 million, North West had 1.7 million, Free State had 1.4 million, and Northern Cape had 637,000.

Hennings pointed out that, according to the voter roll, 55% of registered voters are female and 44% are male.

“The number of South Africans living abroad who have registered to vote has increased from 18000 to just over 29000. To cast their vote, South Africans must go to their nearest consulate mission as indicated by DIRCO,” said Hennings.

The UK has 9 373 voters; the Netherlands has 285; Ireland has 1 306; the United Arab Emirates has 1 090, and Australia has 1 075 voters.

The IEC has restated its objective of registering all qualified voters for the national and provincial elections in South Africa. It encourages South Africans to take advantage of the final voter registration weekend, either by registering at the voting stations or online.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and the Commission Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Akhtari Henning, here.