Voting stations will be open throughout the country between 8am and 5pm on Saturday 5 March and Sunday 6 March to assist
• those who have never before registered to register as voters for the first time;
• those who previously registered but have moved since they registered to re-register in their new voting district; and
• those whose registration status may have been impacted by changes to ward or voting district boundary changes to re-register in their new voting district
The IEC is also calling on all registered voters – even if they have not changed address or been impacted by boundary changes – to use the opportunity to visit their voting station to update their address and contact details to help enhance the voters’ roll.
The Electoral Commission said it is confident that everything is in place for this weekend’s registration to run smoothly and efficiently with all materials delivered and ready.
Registration process
All those visiting a voting station should have with them a valid SA ID – namely either a green bar-coded ID book, a smartcard ID or a valid temporary identity certificate.
Applicants will also need to provide an address of where they live that is located in the voting district where they are registering.
Where voters do not have a formal address they will need to provide sufficient details of where they live to allow election officials to confirm they are registering in the correct voting district. However, proof of address is not a prerequisite for registration.
All applicants will complete a REC1 voter registration application form in person at the voting station for the voting district in which they ordinarily reside.
Voters without formal addresses will be required to complete and sign an affirmation form (REC AS) accompanying the REC 1 form in which they attest to the fact they live in the relevant voting district.
In municipal elections voters may only vote where they are registered and voters are reminded that it is a criminal offence to register in a voting district in which they are not ordinarily resident.
To find their correct voting station, eligible voters can:
• Call the Contact Centre on 0800 11 8000 (7am to 9pm weekdays). The Contact Centre will also be open over the registration weekend
• Dial *120*432#
• Use the Voting Station Finder App on www.elections.org.za
Voters’ Roll Statistics
The voters’ roll as at January 31, 2016 showed that 24 964 498 voters were registered.
Based on latest voting age population (VAP) estimates provided by Statistics South Africa, there are currently approximately 34 million South African citizens of voting age, placing the current registration level at 73 percent of all eligible voters.
