The
Electoral Commission is pleased to report that it has interacted with 2.9
million voters during the two-day registration weekend which took place from 18
to 19 November 2023. The majority of voters – 2.7 million – visited voting
stations to register, as well as update their details. A total of 196 511 voters
used the online portal to do the same.
The innovations
and efficiencies introduced by the Voter Management Device (VMD) have increased
the speed at which voter registration applications are processed. With the VMD,
particulars of voters who attended to voting stations over the weekend have now
been processed and address details captured onto the voter’s roll.
Before
the introduction of the VMD, it would have taken months to capture address
details of voters following a registration event. The VMD processed
834 474 live transactions, while 1 872 352 transactions were
captured and later processed. This is testament to the soundness of providing
for a mode that enables the VMD to operate in varied connectivity environments.
The
total registration activity over the two days was 2 904 037. Eligible
citizens registering for the first time were 568 374. This accounts for 19.57%
percent of total registration activity. Voters who re-registered in the same voting
district numbered 1.4 million, and those who re-registered in a different voting
districts were 929 564.
Gauteng,
KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape recorded the most registration transactions.
The provincial breakdown is as follows:
- Gauteng: 610 948
- KwaZulu-Natal: 559 933
- Eastern Cape: 516 547
- Limpopo: 332 557
- Mpumalanga: 225 074
- Western Cape: 227 620
- North West: 184 902
- Free State: 173 612
- Northern Cape: 72 844
The
voters’ roll now has 26,8 million voters, an increase from 26.3 million before
the registration weekend. Gauteng continues to be inhabited by the majority of
the country’s population, as well as being the largest voting block at 6.2
million registered voters.
Young
persons in the age category 16-29 account for 445 089, or 78.31%, of the 568 374
new voters. Therefore, the Commission’s continued focus on young persons is
producing a good yield. The Commission will persist with efforts to improve the
registration levels of the youth.
The
well entrenched trend of there being more females on the voters’ roll continues.
Of the new registrations, 298 500, or 52.52%, were female.
Since
its inception in July 2021, the online registration portal has proven to be a
success. Over the Registration Weekend, 196 511
transactions were recorded on this facility. The provinces with the highest online
registrations are Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The Commission is
seized with resolving some online registrations that gave a “pending” message.
The “pending” message is received by voters in instances where the ID image
that they have uploaded cannot be read or recognised by the system, or where an
image other than an ID has been uploaded. We urge voters to take extra care and
follow system prompts when uploading images of their ID.
The
online registration portal remains available and citizens are urged to continue
to use this platform to update their particulars and register to vote. We further
urge those whose applications were not concluded on the system to finalise
them.
The Electoral
Commission appreciates and thanks all South Africans who heeded the call to
register for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections. Many also took to our SMS line 32810 to check their
registration status. We further appreciate many citizens who approached our contact
centre on 0800 11 8000 to receive a
basket of assistance to register from our officials. Many continue to receive
valuable information from our WhatsApp business account at 0600 88 000.
We
further urge and invite persons who manage frail-care facilities and other such
institutions to make contact with the Electoral Commission to arrange visits for
purposes of registering voters in those institutions. Similarly, persons who
are confined at home may also cause applications to be made for them to be visited
and registered.
The Electoral
Commission reiterates that these participation levels in the voter registration
process are a demonstration of the commitment of South Africans to electoral
democracy. For its part, the Commission will spare no effort to ensure that
eligible citizens are accorded ample opportunity to enlist on the roll.
ISSUED
BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Ensuring free, fair
and credible elections
For media queries:
Please contact Kate Bapela on 082 600-6386
For media interviews:
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