The EFF is pushing ahead with its plans to have it become law for all South African citizens over the age of 16 to be automatically registered to vote.
The red berets brigade, in this regard, has written to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza for the final draft of the Electoral Amendment Bill.
The private bill is sponsored by EFF head honcho Julius Malema.
Chiefly, the intention of the private member bill is to amend the Electoral Act of 1998 to provide for the automatic registration of all South African citizens on the national voters’ roll upon reaching the age of 16, using particulars contained in the national population register.
This, the EFF believes, will help resolve the impasse of escalating voter apathy. It will also eliminate the need for the so-called registration weekends before every election.
Voter apathy
The EFF is concerned that only just over half of eligible voters bothered to participate in the 2024 national and provincial elections.
To make matters worse, in the local government elections in 2021, only one in three eligible voters showed up to vote.
“The Independent Electoral Commission will be mandated to notify citizens of their
registration and ensure that they confirm or update their ordinary place of residence
before voting for the first time,” said the EFF in a statement.
“The EFF introduces this Bill to resolve the profound crisis of democratic participation
in South Africa. Voter turnout has collapsed to historic lows, with just 58.6% of
registered voters participating in the 2024 national elections, and fewer than one in
three citizens voting in the 2021 municipal elections.
“At the same time, more than 13.5 million eligible South Africans, the majority of them young people, remain excluded from the voters’ roll. Automatic registration is one of the most decisive and meaningful ways to ensure that every citizen is included from the outset, reversing exclusion and rebuilding the legitimacy of our democratic system.”
Avoid delays
The EFF called on Didiza to urgently facilitate the drafting, finalisation, and certification of this Bill, and to ensure that it proceeds speedily through the parliamentary process.
This as the 2026 local government elections are on the horizon.
“The EFF reaffirms that this bill is a democratic safeguard, and it must not be delayed.
It is time to end the systematic exclusion of millions of citizens from the democratic
process and to affirm, in law, that the right to vote belongs to all.
“We will circulate the draft private member bill for public comments once finalised
together with a gazette of notice of intention to introduce the bill, and we will call on all political parties, civil society organisations, and communities to submit inputs.
Automatic registration is not about party politics—it is about safeguarding democracy
itself, ensuring that every citizen’s voice counts, and restoring confidence in our
electoral system.”
