For the first time in the history of democratic South Africa, the national voters’ roll has surpassed the 27 million mark. The Electoral Commission (IEC) says it hopes the number will increase as it gears up for the final voter registration, this weekend.
The IEC, in collaboration with the Department of Correctional Services, has been on a three-day drive to get prisoners to register. The country’s election body has significantly ramped up registrations for South Africans living abroad.
Briefing the media on Wednesday on its readiness to hold the second national registration drive this weekend on February 3 and 4, the IEC says more South Africans than ever before have registered to vote in the upcoming general elections scheduled for later this year.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says, “The voter’s roll has for the first time surpassed the 27 million mark in the 2019 national and provincial elections the certified voter’s roll sat at 26. 7 million. We are encouraged that we have reached this milestone of 27 million people on the voter’s roll ahead of the second registration weekend event scheduled for this weekend.”
Mamabolo says in another significant development, just under 200 000 new registrations have been recorded in the IEC’s online platform since the national registration weekend in November 2023. He adds that registration activity on the platform in that period has been of around 500 000 people.
Mamabolo says registration activity on the platform for that period has been of around 500 000 people. But the IEC wants to ensure it gets most of the 43 million eligible South African voters to register, including prisoners.
In 2019 only 15 000 of the more than 150 000 inmate population cast their ballots. Now, the Department of Correctional Services is setting a higher benchmark, hoping to get 100 000 inmates to register.
Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Patekile Holomisa says it is important that the constitutional rights of prisoners to vote is upheld.
“We are a member of the United Nations organisation and one of its declarations what is called the Nelson Mandela rules that dictate that prisoners must be treated with dignity because they continue to be treated with dignity but they are also encouraging signatories to those rules to allow people to vote the truth of the matter the great majority of nations do not give this ri a few in the world are giving this right to prisoners.”
Meanwhile, the registration of South Africans living abroad has increased significantly.
Mamabolo explains, “The international segment of the voter’s roll for out-of-country registrations stood at approximately 10 thousand South Africans ahead of the registration weekend out of the country. Following the registration weekend for out-of-county citizens this segment of the roll now stands at 29 thousand 3 hundred and 18 voters. Out-of-country registrations can still continue via the online registration process that the Commission has developed and which is accessible through the Commission website.”
The IEC is committed to deliver an incident-free registration weekend on the 3rd and 4th of February. Voting stations across the country will be open from 8am to 5pm.
VIDEO: IEC briefs media on plans for second voter registration weekend:
