IEC thanks South Africans for relatively smooth voter registration weekend

JOHANNESBURG - The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has thanked South Africans for coming out in their numbers to ensure their names are on the voters' roll this past weekend.

The commission marked the second and final voter registration weekend, ahead of this year’s national elections in a few months - with the first having taken place in November.

However, those who did not manage to get to their local registration stations can still visit their local municipal offices to register, or do it online up until the election date is officially proclaimed. 

While the final figures are still being consolidated, early estimates put the total number of registrations this past weekend at more than one million.

The commission also reminded eligible voters that they can only vote at the voting station where they are registered.

The only exception to this is for those who give prior notice to the IEC - the deadline for which it said will be regulated by the election timetable.

Details of “the modalities of notification”, meanwhile, will be outlined in due course.

EASTERN CAPE DISRUPTIONS 

Six voting stations remained unopened in the Eastern Cape throughout the weekend, with the IEC in the province encouraging affected communities to go online to make sure they are registered for the fast-approaching general elections.
 
At least 12 stations across three districts were disrupted by protest action on Sunday, with IEC staff not allowed to enter their respective voting stations.
 
The Eastern Cape experienced challenges on both days of the final drive, however, most provinces across the country reported that they had a smooth registration weekend.
  
Voters in the province also shared their thoughts on the looming elections and the governing African National Congress (ANC).
 
"There's no change, even if we vote. Look at the youth unemployment. Young graduates are sitting at home with CVs and no jobs. There's no progress – the ANC takes the bulk of whatever they are meant to give to the people, and just give[s] them crumbs.”

SMOOTH REGISTRATION DRIVE IN KZN

The IEC in KwaZulu-Natal said voter registration was smooth, with no incidents reported in the province. 

A total of 109,124 residents registered to vote over the weekend, with the province also getting a fair share of attention from some of the country’s biggest political parties.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) spent time engaging with communities across parts of KZN.

Water woes that have hit parts of Durban saw the ANC-led government’s Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu, and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, meeting with residents from affected areas in a bid to deliver a progress report on efforts to restore water.

Some residents who went to register and update their details also shared their thoughts on the looming polls and challenges facing parts of the province.

“It’s about money – no story, end of day, because every day they’re making money, the poor are suffering, the rich are always getting richer, so we’re gonna vote, trying our best to vote the right way. Service delivery in Phoenix is poor, people are suffering, and it’s so inconvenient with the times. We talked about transformation, about the land that has to belong to the people, but now we don’t see all that."