DURBAN - MOST of the 1.7 million people who registered to vote during the special two-day registration weekend were from KwaZulu-Natal.
According to the Electoral Commission, 358 384 people were from KZN, followed by Gauteng province with 315 282. In the third place is the Eastern Cape with 240 514.
According to the Electoral Commission chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo, this registration yield is inclusive of new registrations as well as voters correcting their registration details.
He said innovations introduced by the voter management device have increased the speed at which voter registration applications are processed.
"Approved applications already have their details and addresses captured on the voters’ roll. Previously, it would have taken weeks to capture address details of new applicants following a registration event," he said.
Persons registering as voters for the first time were 433 198. This accounts for 25% of the total registration activity. Voters who were re-registering in the same or changed voting districts account for account for 1 277 811 applications.
"This is indicative that the message calling on voters to update their details to accord with political boundaries in which they are resident continues to resonate," Mamabolo said.
Young persons in the age category 16-29 account for 402 401 of the new registrations which is 91%, therefore this registration effort has elicited a good response from young persons.
"A well-entrenched pattern of there being more female participants continues: 52% of all new registrations were female voters.
“Since its inception in July, the online registration portal has processed 499 488 applications. Yesterday, 121 414 applicants used this digital channel of registration.
“This digital channel provides voters the convenience of use in terms of time of application as well as place of application. It will become an anchor mechanism of registration in the future. A solid basis was laid for its future use," Mamabolo said.
Final lists of candidates will be published on September 29, 2021 and candidates will be issued with certificates on October 1, 2021.
Copies of the provisionally compiled voters roll will be made available to electoral contestants between September 21 and 23, 2021. The commission will make decisions in relation to objections raised on Friday, September 24, 2021. The voters roll will be certified on September 26, 2021.
Applications for special votes opened today and will close on October 4, 2021. Special votes will be cast on both October 30 and 31, 2021. Applicants who are unable to visit voting stations due to infirmity will be visited at homes or places of confinement while all other successful candidates will cast special votes at the voting stations.
IOL