Online voter registrations are booming, says IEC

General elections will be held next year.
General elections will be held next year.
Image: Kevin Sutherland/ File photo

The Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) online registration portal is proving popular, particularly with young voters and women.

Since its launch in July 2021, 1.1-million registrations have been recorded, the commission said.

“The portal has experienced a hive of activity this year with 52% of transactions recorded..

“New registrations amount to 40.6% of online registrations.

“Women are the majority users of the online portal at 56%. Young people under the age of 29 indicate a strong usage level at 49.6%.

A registration weekend as part of preparations for the 2024 national and provincial elections will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

The IEC said 23,296 registration stations will be open between 8am and 5pm on both days.

More than 69,718 staff have been recruited and trained for this registration weekend. Of these, 53,028 are women, 35,640 are under the age of 35 and 50,213 are unemployed.

The goal is to reach as many of the about 34% unregistered voters as possible.

The recently released Census 2022 results recorded an estimated 39.7-million people of voting age. The voters’ roll stands at 26.2-million, which represents 66%.

The commission also urged registered voters to check the correctness of their details by visiting registration stations this weekend.

“This is crucial because with the amendments to prescripts voters may only vote in the voting district in which they are registered. Deviation from this rule is only available on pre-notification to the chief electoral officer by a date to be regulated in the election timetable.”

The commission's contact centre has been activated and can be reached on 0800 11 8000.

On election readiness, the IEC said lease agreements for permanent voting stations have been signed. Of these, 62% are schools and 9.7% are places of worship. Community halls and other municipal buildings make up the balance.

There are also 959 temporary voting stations. Most of these are in Gauteng (204), followed by the Free State (180) and Limpopo (150).

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