A record number of voters made use of the opportunity to visit voting stations over the past weekend to register as first time voters or to re-register where they have changed their address.
A total of 1 406 702 voters registered over the weekend. These included:
- 534 016 new registrations of which 57 569 were from 16 and 17 year olds that cannot yet be included on the voters roll.
- 142 954 re-registrations within the same voting district to deal amongst other reasons with the possible effects of boundary changes and new wards.
- 729 732 re-registrations in different voting districts because of address changes since the last election.
- In addition, thousand of voters also checked their details on the voters’ rolls that were available for inspection at every voting station.
“The Electoral Commission (IEC) is particularly pleased with the outcome of the registration drive. The net effect is that 1 205 520 voters have over the past weekend empowered themselves to cast their votes in the forthcoming municipal elections,” said Dr Brigalia Bam, IEC Chairperson. “This figure is arrived at by adding the new registrations to the figure for re-registrations because of a change in address as these voters will now be correctly placed on the voters’ roll and will be able to participate in the forthcoming elections.“
The great success of the weekend registration drive is clear when the results are compared to the outcome of the first registration weekend of the previous municipal elections in 2006. Dr Bam said that the following statistics were of interest:
- In 2005/6 there were 291 479 new registrations and we now have 534 016 which is an increase of 242 537 or 83% in the number of new registrations
- In 2005/6 there were 446 742 re- registrations where voters changed their address and we now have729 732 which is an increase of 282 990 or 63% in re-registrations.
Dr Bam said that the youth responded in force to the call to register and to the campaign to “Love Your South Africa”. A total of 653 498 young people under the age of 30 years participated in the registration weekend:
- 435 738 were new registrations and this is 81% of all new registrations
- 36 665 were re-registrations within the same voting district and
- 181 095 were re-registrations from different voting districts where addresses changed.
Women responded to the registration drive more positively than men. Of the new registrations in all age groups:
- 52, 4% were from women and
- 47, 6% were from men.
KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of new registrations with 134 864 followed by Gauteng with 91 708 and Eastern Cape with 90 933.
Before the weekend registration there were 22 691 676 people on the Voters’ Roll. Given the new registrations over the past weekend, the Voters’ Roll now stands at 23 161 975. Dr Bam indicated that detailed figures were available on the IEC website on the results of the past weekend’s registration drive.
Dr Bam thanked all IEC staff members and those who worked at voting stations over the weekend for their hard work and dedication. She also thanked the Department of Home Affairs for dealing with identity document applications over the weekend.
Dr Bam reminded persons who did not register or re-register over the weekend that they could still do so during normal business hours at the municipal electoral office in the municipality in which they live. The address could be obtained from the IEC website or from the toll free number 0800 11 8000.
Dr Bam said that whilst the IEC is pleased with the results of the registration weekend the IEC would offer voters a last and final opportunity to register for the forthcoming municipal elections. This would also accommodate people who could not visit their voting stations to register or re-register over the past weekend as a result of heavy rains and flooding in some areas.
The IEC will open all it voting stations again on 5 and 6 March 2011 from 8am to 5pm for a final registration opportunity.
Voters who registered or re-registered over the past weekend may already verify the correctness of their applications by visiting the IEC website at www.elections.org.za,or they can SMS their ID number to 32810 or call the IEC toll free on a landline at 0800 11 8000. Fresh voters’ rolls will also be available for inspection at voting stations on 5 and 6 March 2011.
Dr Bam again emphasised that 5 and 6 March will be the final registration weekend where eligible voters will have a chance to register or re-register at their voting station where they live. For municipal elections voters can only vote where they are registered and they must register where they live.
The detailed information (attached PDF documents) is also available in an Excel spreadsheet on http://www.elections.org.za/content/DynamicDocs.aspx?id=449&BreadCrumbId=274&LeftMenuId=251&name=home
ISSUED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Pretoria
9 February 2011
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