Pretoria - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says it is pleased with the way the voter registration weekend panned out across the country.
“We are satisfied with the smooth voter registration weekend, although there were disruptions in some areas. But we are happy that the voter registration weekend went well,” said IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela.
The IEC set aside 9 and 10 November as voter registration days ahead of next year’s general elections.
Areas where isolated incidents of disrupted voter registration were reported include Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape; Malamulele in Limpopo; Joe Morolong Municipality in the Northern Cape; Site C Lansdowne Road in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, and Bekkersdal in Gauteng.
Preliminary reports estimate that approximately 1.1 million people visited voter registration stations on the first day of the Independent Electoral Commission’s registration drive on Saturday.
Bapela said their initial trends also show a high turnout of young people, with up to 75% of new registrations being people under the age of 30.
The largest numbers of visits to registration stations recorded on Saturday were in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
The IEC has set a target of getting two million new registrations by the time the voters’ roll closes before next year’s general elections. - SAnews.gov.za
