KZN, Eastern Cape outpace provinces in voter registration drive

KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape outpaced other provinces in voter registration activity on the second and final day of the registration weekend, followed by Gauteng and Limpopo, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

More than 90% of registrations took place in person at stations nationwide, which carried on despite poor weather conditions in parts of the country.

Online registration will remain open beyond the weekend drive, ahead of local government elections set for November 4. The IEC has not yet indicated whether there will be a second voter registration weekend closer to the local polls.

“The majority of registrations (more than 90%) are being conducted in person at registration stations. Online registration remains available beyond the weekend,” the electoral body said.

Party leaders used the weekend to mobilise voters on the ground.

ANC leader President Cyril Ramaphosa and the EFF’s Julius Malema both campaigned in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province and an important electoral battleground. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis focused his efforts in the Western Cape, the party’s stronghold.

Early indications pointed to young people being the majority of new applicants, with most new registrations concentrated in high-population provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

That is a notable shift given that about 70% of eligible 18-year-olds remain unregistered nationally, a figure that has raised concern about youth participation ahead of the vote.

More than 330,000 registration applications were processed by midday on Saturday.

“Just over 300,000 transactions were processed on the VMD [voter management device] at voting stations, while 30,000 were applications on the online platform,” IEC deputy CEO for electoral operations Masego Sheburi said over the weekend.

“Predictably, provinces with population densities account for the majority of the transactions, with KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape recording the highest applications. Early indications point to young persons as the majority of applicants.”

The online registration portal will remain open until midnight on the day the election is officially proclaimed by the minister of co-operative governance & traditional affairs, after which voter registration and updates to registration details will close.

“The commission also extends its gratitude to political parties, community leaders, civil society organisations, traditional leaders, security agencies and all stakeholders for supporting the registration process,” Sheburi said.