Citizens across the country came out in their numbers to register and update their information ahead of next year's general elections.
A local ward councillor cited service delivery issues, a council policy on indigent relief, and youth unemployment being among the reasons for some unhappy residents not caring to register for the 2024 polls.
On the second and final day of the IEC’s voter registration weekend, some informal traders in Centurion told Eyewitness News that they were registering to vote in order to make their voices heard, and hopefully protect how they make a living.
In Kimberley's Diamond Park, residents say their decision to vote will most likely be influenced by the completion of an RDP housing project that COGTA started and could not finish owing to the depletion of funds.
The president is yet to proclaim a date for the national and provincial elections, which are expected to run concurrently in 2024.
The DA leader cited water and electricity outages, as well as the high crime rate, as reasons why South Africans should use this weekend to prepare for the 2024 general elections.
Eighteen-year-old Billie Booyens, a first-time voter said she is excited to participate in the upcoming elections, adding that South Africa’s youth has the power to take the country forward if they head to the polls.
Ahead of the IEC’s voter registration weekend, various organisations have been adopting creative means to get the country’s youth to participate in the fast-approaching 2024 general elections.
Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo gave the figures for the voter registration weekend during a media conference on Monday.
The IEC is briefing the media on the outcome of the voter registration weekend.
The first day of the voter registration weekend for the 1 November local government elections is well under way.
There are 25.6 million people on the roll and the Independent Electoral Commission hopes to increase this to 26 million by Monday.
The electoral commission said that the Western Cape had 1,577 registration stations that would be open on Saturday and Sunday from 8am in the morning until 5pm in the evening.
Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the readiness of the IEC depended largely on the work of his department as citizens would not be able to register on Saturday and Sunday if they did not have identification.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo stressed that Home Affairs offices would also be operational to assist with identity documents, required to register and vote in the 1 November polls.
Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, said that the voter registration process was not linked to government's vaccination programme.
The IEC is giving an update on its readiness for this weekend's voter registration.
'The opinion from health experts who indicate that the whole of July is likely to be a period of high infection as well as the impact that the pandemic has had on the preparations for the general registration weekend,' IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said.
