THE Electoral Commission has urged all South Africa’s eligible voters to visit their voting stations over the weekend of 10 and 11 March as part of a national campaign to update the voters’ roll in preparation for the 2019 general elections.
Current figures on the voters roll show that in KwaZulu-Natal, there are 5 317 661 registered voters, however, of this figure, 555 979 have no addresses while 832 616 have incomplete addresses. This brings the total number of voters with no addresses in KwaZulu-Natal to 1 388 595. Stats released by the commission reveal the number of voters within eThekwini Metro with no addresses per ward, with Ward 27 reflecting 3451, Ward 31 reflecting 4519 and Ward 33 reflecting 2046.
All registered voters are urged to check their address details. The voters who have relocated since the last election are also urged to update their registration details and new young voters are urged to register for the first time during this weekend.
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This is also a voter registration drive throughout the country aimed at compiling addresses in line with the ruling of the Constitutional Court in 2016, that the Commission is required to obtain sufficient particularities of the location of voters’ residence by the end of June 2018. The court also indicated a compliance time-frame for the collection of addresses and it is yet to make a determination on the success of the address collection for all voters on the roll.
The acceptable types of address include a street address, a site or house address, a residential complex address, or a place name for urban dwellers – a village name, a tribal authority and town and descriptive place name for a rural address.
All voting stations will open for voters between 8am and 5pm over the weekend to assist new voters to register, allow already registered voters who have moved since they registered to re-register in their correct voting district, and to allow registered voters whose address details are not on the voters’ roll to provide this information or correct addresses if incorrect on the voters’ roll.
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South Africa citizens aged 16 and older and in possession of a bar coded ID book, smart card ID or a temporary ID certificate can register as voters. Proof of residence is not required.
The Contact Centre (0800 11 8000) is open Monday to Friday during office hours of 8am to 5pm to assist voters to find their correct voting station and to answer any queries. Registered voters can also SMS their ID number to 32810 to receive an SMS containing the address of their voting station (charged at R1). An online facility (www.elections.org.za/MyIEC) is also available for registered voters with access to the internet to update and review their address online. These voters are urged to update their details before the end of May 2018.
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