Pretoria - Pretoria residents were responding positively to the ANC's door-to-door campaign on Saturday, Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said.
He led a team of several party supporters in Lotus Gardens, west of Pretoria. The group knocked on numerous doors and spoke to residents.
“We are talking to everyone. The last person (we spoke to) was a youth. They have to go and register to vote. They promise us that they are going to do that,” he said.
“The response we've been getting here is quite good. We are telling them that they have to register first, then we will come and talk to them about voting for the ANC.”
Asked about his party's optimism about winning this year's general elections, Mantashe said a lot of work was required.
“If we work hard, they will (vote ANC),” he said.
Some people ran to meet Mantashe when they saw him walking in their neighbourhood.
A few people were at the voter registration stations in Lotus Gardens, Mamelodi and Atteridgeville in Pretoria.
Eligible South Africans still have a chance to register at their voting stations in the final registration drive this weekend.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) aims to get 80 percent of the voting population on its voters roll before the general elections.
The IEC said on Thursday that just over 24.1 million South Africans had registered to vote.
“This is 76.7 percent of the estimated voting age population which, according to Statistics SA, is 31.4 million,” spokeswoman Kate Bapela said in a statement.
“This includes just over one million new voters who were added to the voters roll during the previous registration weekend held in November.”
To reach the target, another 1.1 million people needed to register.
Bapela said 22,263 voting stations throughout the country would be open on Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 5pm.
On Friday, the IEC said eligible voters had until the official proclamation of the election date to register. The date of the official proclamation still had to be announced.
After the weekend, voters would have to go to one of the IEC's regional offices to register.
President Jacob Zuma announced that the fifth national general elections would be held on May 7. - Sapa