Cape Town - Ahead of the weekend’s voter registration drive, President Jacob Zuma on Friday urged South Africans to ensure they were ready to vote in the 2016 Local Government Elections (LGE).
“I wish to call upon all eligible citizens to go out in their numbers to their voting districts and stations to register or to update their information, so that they are ready for this important democratic process,” said the president.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has designated March 5 and 6 for voter registration ahead of the LGE. For the weekend’s registration, more than 22 000 stations will be in operation, 1 700 more than was available in the 2011 LGE.
Zuma said that the weekend was for anyone needing to register as a first-time voter, those who needed to re-register because they had moved place or have been affected by changes in ward or voting districts. He added that all eligible voters should visit their local stations to update their records with the IEC.
Citizens could visit their local stations from 8am to 5pm and were reminded to bring their South African identity documents with – either a green bar-coded ID book, a smartcard ID, or a valid Temporary Identity Certificate.
Those needing to collect their ID documents from Home Affairs could also do so between the same times on Saturday and Sunday as the department has aligned their opening hours with voter registration.
“I urge all South Africans to go and register, or to verify their status so as to fulfil this important duty as citizens of a democratic country,” Zuma reiterated.
“We also encourage young people who are turning 18 years old this year and others to go out in great numbers to register to vote so that that they can have their say in who governs our municipalities.”
At 10am on Saturday, Zuma would be visiting his local station, Ntolwane Primary School in KwaNxamalala in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.
“Let us all go out in numbers to our voting stations this weekend,” he said.
African News Agency