By Thapelo Molefe
Nearly three million voter registration transactions were recorded during the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) voter registration weekend, with young people accounting for 80% of all new registrations ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Briefing the media on Monday, IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said 2.9 million registration transactions were processed during the registration weekend held this past weekend.
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The figure marks a significant increase from the 1.7 million transactions recorded during the comparable voter registration weekend before the 2021 local government elections.
“The Electoral Commission has achieved two significant objectives during this voter registration weekend. Firstly, the continued growth of the voters’ roll and secondly, improved registration yield from young persons,” Mamabolo said.
According to the IEC, 477,174 of the transactions were first-time registrations, while 2.4 million voters used the opportunity to inspect and update their registration details.
The voter registration drive has increased the country’s voters’ roll to 28.5 million registered voters. The IEC said this was a notable increase considering that the voters’ roll used during the 2024 national and provincial elections contained 27.7 million voters.
Mamabolo said around 1.3 million voters had been removed from the roll since 2024, mainly due to deaths, making the latest growth in registrations particularly significant.
The IEC also reported strong participation by young people. Voters aged between 16 and 29 accounted for 785,078 registration transactions, representing 27% of all activity recorded during the weekend.
Young people dominated new registrations, with 379,767 of the 477,174 first-time registrations coming from the 16 to 29 age group.
“The figures indicate that the youth-focused campaign is finding resonance with young persons and that far from it, young people are not apathetic,” Mamabolo said.
Women accounted for the majority of registration activity, making up 57% of all transactions, while men accounted for 43%.
Most voters opted to register in person, with more than 2.5 million transactions conducted through Voting Management Devices at registration stations. A further 362,296 transactions were completed through the IEC’s online voter registration portal.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of registration transactions at 691,504, followed by Eastern Cape with 534,773 and Gauteng with 502,229.
The IEC also announced that its online voter registration portal has now been zero-rated, allowing South Africans to register, update their details and verify their information without incurring data costs.
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In addition, the commission announced a second voter registration weekend to be held on 1 and 2 August to give eligible citizens another opportunity to register and update their details before the elections.
Mamabolo said the online voter registration portal would remain open until the official proclamation of the 2026 local government elections. He added that approximately 30,000 online applications were still being processed, mainly due to poor-quality identity document images submitted by applicants.
The IEC recorded 12 million website visits during the two-day registration period, with most users accessing voter registration, voter verification and voting station locator services.
Mamabolo thanked voters, electoral staff, political parties, community organisations and other stakeholders for contributing to what he described as a successful registration weekend.
“Every registration strengthens South Africa’s democracy and ensures that communities have a voice in shaping the future of local government,” he said.
