By Ragheema Mclean

Ahead of the 2024 national elections the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) opened voter registration across South Africa this past weekend (18-19 November).

Next year’s elections have been recognized as extremely important for our country and there have been numerous calls for people to register to vote, particularly the youth.

The IEC has emphasized that its primary goal was to get the youth, to register to vote as It’s facing a registration gap of 14 million citizens. Of the 26 million people currently on the registration roll, only 7% are in the age group of 18 to 29.

Speaking on the VOC Breakfast show on Monday, Provincial Electoral Officer Michael Hendrickse explained how the voter registration weekend went in the province.

Hendrickse expressed his satisfaction with the turnout, stating, “It was an amazing turnout across the province,” further emphasizing the notable presence of young people among those registering.

“My teams were telling me that most of the people coming to register where amongst the youth.”

He affirmed that there were 1570 voting registration stations open in the Western Cape while voters could also register online.

“Final numbers are yet to be confirmed as physical and online registrations are still being tallied and verified.”

The IEC is set to have a media briefing at 4pm on Monday where they will discuss the definitive numbers within each province.

Another voter registration weekend will open next year closer to the election, while online registration remains open 24/7 until the election, he added.

VOC News

Photo: VOCfm