By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) revealed 2.9 million registration transactions were recorded during the 20 and 21 June registration weekend, an increase from the 1.7 million transactions recorded during a comparable registration drive before the 2021 local government elections.
The registration drive forms part of preparations for the Local Government Elections scheduled for 4 November 2026.
Addressing the media in Pretoria on Monday, Mamabolo said the Commission had achieved two significant objectives during this voter registration weekend, including the continued growth of the voters’ roll and improved registration yield from young persons.
“Over the two voter registration days, the Commission recorded 2.9 million registration transactions. This is an improvement from the 1.7 million transactions recorded during the voter registration weekend for the comparable election in 2021,” Mamabolo said.
He said the ongoing drive to ensure that eligible South Africans are registered and correctly assigned to their respective voting districts has increased the total number of registered voters to 28.5 million.
Mamabolo explained that of the total 2.9 million recorded transactions, 477 174 were first time registrations, accounting for 16% of the total registration activity and voters who inspected and updated their details account for 2.4 million, which represents 84% of the total activity.
“The Commission is encouraged by the positive response of young persons. Young people in the age cohort 16 to 29 accounted for 785 078 of total registration activity, which represents 27% of the total 2.9 million transactions.”
“Of the 785 078, 59% are female, while males represent 41%. Young persons have also dominated the new registration category. Of the total new registrations (477 174), 379 767 or 80% are young people in the age cohort between 16 and 29.”
“The figures indicate that the youth-focused campaign is finding resonance with young persons and that far from it, young people are not apathetic,” he said.
“On the other hand, 362 296 (representing 12% of total registration activity) transacted through the online registration portal. The age cohort 16 – 29 account for 48% of online self-registrations. This is consistent with the trend of young people’s dominant use of this registration channel,” he said.
The highest volumes of registration transactions coincide with population densities. The highest was recorded in Kwa-Zulu Natal (691 504) representing 23%, followed by the Eastern Cape (534 773), representing 18% and Gauteng (502 229), representing 17%.
Mamabolo said the VMDs at registration stations were the predominant channel of registration, with over 2.5 million (88%) of the voters opting to visit a voting station.
He said the commission had taken “extraordinary measures” to ensure the devices functioned smoothly during the registration weekend.
“Among the measures that the commission took was to include one-dimensional barcode scanners, which work in conjunction with the VMDs and assist with the seamless scanning of IDs. The code used for registration has been optimised and the bugs that were previously identified have since been remediated.”
Mamabolo said the IEC had also commissioned independent reviews to test the system’s ability to cope with high registration volumes and verify the integrity of the registration software.
“On this occasion, the VMDs performed near perfection,” he said.
If you aren’t able to make it to a voting station, you can still register or check your status online at: https://registertovote.elections.org.za.
Alternatively, SMS your ID number to 32810 or call the toll-free call centre from a landline on 0800 11 8000 (available only during specific periods announced by the Commission).