Women have once again emerged as the driving force behind the country’s democracy after accounting for more than half of all voter registration activity during the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) final registration weekend, ahead of the November 4 local government elections.
The IEC announced on Monday that women made up 56% of the 1.79 million registration transactions recorded over the weekend, compared with 44% by men.
In a statement issued by the commission, the IEC also revealed that women accounted for half of the 291,806 first-time voter registrations recorded during the weekend, underlining their continued participation in the country’s electoral process.
The latest registration campaign has pushed the country’s voters’ roll to over 29 million registered voters.
Overall, over 1,79 million South Africans either registered for the first time or updated their voting details by visiting one of the country’s 23,699 voting stations or using the online voter registration portal.
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Of those, the majority are first-time registrations, while only 1,502,245 existing voters inspected or updated their registration details to ensure they are registered in the wards where they live, a requirement for local government elections.
KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Eastern Cape
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest registration activity, followed by Gauteng and then the Eastern Cape.
The IEC also welcomed what they deem as “strong participation by young people”.
Voters aged between 16 and 29 represented 26% of all activity during the weekend, while 46% of all new registrations came from people younger than 29 years old.
Traditional registration stations remained the preferred option, with just over 200,000 people using the online registration portal. Gauteng recorded the highest online usage.
The commission said the June and August registration weekends together generated more than 4.6 million interactions with voters and added 754,332 new voters to the roll ahead of the municipal elections.
Since the 2024 general elections, about 2.1 million new voters have been added to the voters’ roll despite the removal of about 884,000 names, mainly due to deaths.
WhatsApp registration
The IEC has introduced voter registration through WhatsApp, allowing eligible South Africans to register or update their details using secure identity verification.
“The platform uses secure identity verification measures, including OTP authentication, ID document uploads, address verification, and voting station confirmation, to protect the integrity of the voters’ roll.
“While WhatsApp registration forms part of a broader voter registration offering, accurate address validation remains critical to a successful registration process. To support this, some voters may be redirected to the interactive map on the Online Voter Registration (OVR) platform to locate and confirm the rooftop location of their home address,” according to the commission.
The commission has urged eligible voters who have not yet registered to do so before midnight on August 7, when voter registration officially closes following the proclamation of the elections.
Attention will now shift to the formal election timetable, candidate nominations and other key milestones ahead of the local government elections on November 4.
- Women accounted for 56% of the 1.79 million voter registration activities during the IEC's final registration weekend ahead of November 4 local elections.
- Women made up half of the 291,806 first-time voter registrations, highlighting their strong role in the electoral process.
- The voters' roll now exceeds 29 million, with KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Eastern Cape showing the highest registration activity.
- Young people aged 16-29 represented 26% of all registration activity and 46% of new registrations.
- The IEC introduced WhatsApp voter registration with secure identity verification and urges all eligible voters to register before the August 7 deadline.
Women have once again emerged as the driving force behind the country's democracy after accounting for more than half of all voter registration activity during the Electoral Commission's (IEC) final registration weekend, ahead of the
In a statement issued by the commission, the IEC also revealed that women accounted for half of the 291,806 first-time voter registrations recorded during the weekend, underlining their continued participation in the country's electoral process.
Overall, over 1,79 million
Read more:
IEC records 2.9 million registrations over weekend
IEC accuses Julius Malema of peddling false statements about 2024 elections
Of those, the majority are first-time registrations, while only 1,502,245 existing voters inspected or updated their registration details to ensure they are registered in the wards where they live, a requirement for local government elections.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest registration activity, followed by
Voters aged between 16 and 29 represented 26% of all activity during the weekend, while 46% of all new registrations came from people younger than 29 years old.
Traditional registration stations remained the preferred option, with just over 200,000 people using the online registration portal.
Since the 2024 general elections, about 2.1 million new voters have been added to the voters' roll despite the removal of about 884,000 names, mainly due to deaths.
"
"While WhatsApp registration forms part of a broader voter registration offering, accurate address validation remains critical to a successful registration process. To support this, some voters may be redirected to the interactive map on the Online Voter Registration (OVR) platform to locate and confirm the rooftop location of their home address," according to the commission.
Attention will now shift to the formal election timetable, candidate nominations and other key milestones ahead of the local government elections on
