Voter registration to take place in March 2018

thE ElECtOrAl COmmISSION

the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has announced the first 2019 elections’ voters registration weekend and has urged eligible voters across the country to visit their voting station to either update their details on the voters’ roll or to register to vote.

The commission’s Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said all 22 612 voting stations will open on the weekend of 10 and 11 March 2018, from 8am to 5pm, to make it easy and convenient for voters to update their registration details or register.

If you have moved to a new area since you last registered to vote, you have to re-register in your new voting district.

South Africa citizens aged 16 and over and in possession of an official identity document or card can register to vote. If you are not registered, you will not be allowed to cast your vote in 2019.

Registered voters, whose address details are not on the voters’ roll, can provide the required information at their voting station during registration.

“We need voters to show up and make use of the opportunity,” said Mamabolo.

“The IEC still does not have addresses for about 2.8 million voters. We have a further 3.5 million addresses that are classified as ‘incomplete’ or ‘generic’. This category requires further analysis to ascertain whether there are any other details available,” he added.

The commission sourced addresses using different initiatives, including reviewing records, files and archives to check and capture addresses provided by voters over the past 20 years; collecting addresses during the 2016 municipal elections; and undertaking field work ahead of registration weekends for the by-elections.

Where necessary, voters found to be registered in the incorrect voting districts were moved, as provided for by Section 12 (1)(d) of the Electoral Act.

“We have received and used, where possible, address data from other state sources such as Statistics South Africa, the South African Social Security Agency, Telkom, the South African Post Office and the Department of Home Affairs,” he said.