The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has declared its readiness to conduct a general voter registration weekend ahead of the 2024 general elections. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sy Mamabolo briefed the media yesterday about the state of readiness for the registration weekend.

ALL SYSTEMS GO

Mamabolo said all the necessary materials have been delivered to more than 23 000 voting stations across the county. "The delivery of essential voter registration material, including VMDs, stationery packs, arrow signs and documents storage boxes, have been provisioned and delivery completed across all provinces. The voters roll as it existed at the beginning of October has been printed and delivered in all municipalities. Approximately 260 tons of equipment and material has been handled through our logistics value chain," Mamabolo said. He added that the registration stations will operate between 8h00 and 17h00 on both days. "Opening of all registration stations this weekend provides equal opportunity to all South Africans to access the voter registration process. Registration weekends, as a modality of registration, provide us by far the greatest registration yield in comparison to other methods. Therefore, we approach this weekend with a measure of expectation that this weekend will once again provide us with significant registration activity," he said.

LOADSHEDDING WON’T BE AN ISSUE 

The IEC has assured the public that loadshedding will not affect voter registration as they will not be relying on supply on both days. "Load shedding is an issue of concern always because it affects our business operations, however on this occasion, we won’t be so much reliant on energy supply because the VMDs will be pre-charged and in a full battery charge they should be able to carry the day without necessity for energy connections,"  Mamabolo said.

OVER 39M ELIGIBLE TO VOTE

Mamabolo added that the recently released Census 2022 results indicate that the population has grown to 62 million inhabitants with an estimated 39.7 million voting age population. "The voter’s roll currently stands at 26.2 million representing 66% of the estimated voting age population. We are approaching this registration weekend informed by the national imperative to increase the coverage of the voters’ roll in all dimensions. The IEC makes an impassioned call on adult South Africans to seize the moment by registering as voters. Only those on the voters’ roll can have a say in the electoral outcome next year. Even if you have not as yet decided to vote, it is still important to be on the voters’ roll because your choice can only be recorded if you are registered," Mamabolo added. The commission says it is still to provide voter registration dates for South Africans living in foreign countries.