IEC ‘happy’ with voter registration weekend

More than 23 000 voter stations opened their doors on Saturday and Sunday for eligible voters to check their voting status ahead of the upcoming local government elections in November.

More than 1.7 million registrations were proceeded between the two days, including new registrations and updates to personal information. 

KwaZulu-Natal led the pack with the highest number of registrations clocked with more than 350 000 voters.

This was followed by Gauteng with 315 282 applications and the Eastern Cape 240 514 applications.  

IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says the outcomes far surpassed their expectations. 

“The new registrations account for 433 198 application, this accounts for 25% of the total registration activity.

“Young persons in the age category 16 to 29 years account for 402 401 of new registrations, which is 91%. Therefore this registration effort has elicited a good response from young people,” Mamabolo added.

Mamabolo addressed media on the IEC’s outcomes in Centurion on Monday. 

Meanwhile, political parties have until Tuesday at 5pm to submit their candidate nominations after the Constitutional Court upheld the IEC’s decision to reopen the candidate list. 

The decision garnered mixed reaction from opposition benches. 

Mamabolo told media that the court’s ruling favoured the rights of voters.

He denied there was any bias towards some parties, including the African National Congress, in the decision. 

“The handing down of this judgement has provided all role players with clarity in relation to the interplay between the regulatory of elections on the one hand and the Constitutional imperative for free and fair elections. 

“The clarity provided by the Constitutional Court on this matter has laid a strong foundation for all parties to focus on preparing for the election,” Mamabolo said.