Over 1 million citizens interacted with the Electoral Commission this weekend

Over 1 million citizens interacted with the Electoral Commission this weekend The final voter registration weekend on 1 and 2 August saw 1.7 million citizens interacting with the Electoral Commission by either visiting one of the 23 699 registration stations or using the online voter registration portal. “Of the 1.7 million transactions, 291 806 or 16% were persons registering as first time voters,” Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo said. Addressing the media in Pretoria on Monday to give an update on the final voter registration weekend, Mamabolo said an additional 1 502 245 or 84% of persons already registered, inspected and updated their registration details. “This is in line with the message that a voter must register and vote in the voting district within the ward where they reside,” he said. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest volume of registration transactions at 427 592, followed by the Gauteng with 314 856, while Eastern Cape third with 313 797. “Registration station- based applications continue to be the leading mode of registration with 1 555 318 of the total 1.7 million applications. “Provincially, KwaZulu-Natal comprises the largest number at 386 258 registration station-based activity, followed by Eastern Cape at 295 655 and Gauteng at 228 364. The online portal contributed 238 733 transactions over the two days. “The highest usage of the online voter registration platform was recorded in Gauteng (86 492), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (41 334) and the Western Cape (33 783). Unsurprisingly, these are provinces with highest concentrations of urban populations,” Mamabolo said. He explained that of the total 1.7 million transactions recorded, young people in the age cohort 16 to 29 account for 485 757 or 26%. “Even more encouraging is that 46% of the new registrations are by voter under the age of 29. KwaZulu-Natal again leads with young person’s registration at 137 046, followed by Eastern Cape at 79 417, followed by Gauteng at 78 405. “The total registration activity for the final registration weekend, female voters account for 1 005 790, representing 56% of total activity, while male voters account for 788 261or 44% of total activity. This is consistent with the well-established trend of there being more females than males on the voter’s roll. Of the 291 806 new registrations 50% are female,” he said. Mamabolo said the combined impact of the two voter registration weekend drives resulted in close to 4.7 million interactions with voters (4 666 547) compared to the 1.7 million transactions recorded during the comparable 2021 Local Government Elections with one registration weekend due to the COVID-19 reduced election timetable. Collectively, the two voter registration weekends held in June and August 2026 contributed 754 332 new voters, adding to the continued growth of the voters’ roll ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections. – SAnews.gov.za Edwin Mon, 08/03/2026 - 13:34 92