Johannesburg - The government has congratulated the more than one million people newly registered to vote in the 2014 elections.
“Registering to vote is the first step to ensure that your voice and opinion is counted. Every South African has a right and responsibility... to play an active role in electing their representatives,” acting government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said in a statement on Thursday.
“As the country celebrates its 20 years of freedom, citizens are encouraged to exercise their democratic right and register to vote. Each and every vote contributes to strengthening our democracy.”
She said people who had not yet registered could still do so at municipal electoral offices.
Speaking on Tuesday following the voter registration process at the weekend, Independent Electoral Commission chairwoman Pansy Tlakula said the IEC had a target of two million new registrations before the 2014 elections.
“We have not done badly, because we have reached the 50-percent mark. We still have one million first-time voters to go,” she said.
“The end result was a smooth and efficient registration process (at the weekend) in which 2 512 219 people were assisted at the country's 22 263 registration stations.”
Of these, 1 088 015 or 43.3 percent were new voters registering for the first time.
Sapa