The Electoral Commission (IEC) has reminded eligible voters of the importance of registering to vote.
This ahead of this weekend’s national registration weekend, which enables citizens to visit just over 23 000 registration stations to register or check their details for the upcoming polls.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says that the IEC aims to ensure that every one of South Africa’s 43 million eligible voters is registered to vote.
The 2024 elections are governed by the Electoral Amendment Act signed into law in April last year. The legislation allows for independent candidates to run for national and provincial elections for the first time in South Africa’s history and has necessitated changes to the IEC’s processes and procedures.
“Ahead of the second voter registration weekend we remind voters of the general rule of elections. That is, a person votes at a voting station where they are registered. The only exception to the general rule is that a voter may vote outside of the voting district of registration only if they have first notified the Commission by the date which will be regulated by the Election Timetable. The need for this prior notification is new and comes about as a result of the changes to the law.”
Meanwhile, Home Affairs on Friday extended working hours by at least 2 hours to accommodate the IEC’s voter registration drive and have encouraged those who still need to collect their identification cards to visit their offices over the weekend.
