Voter registration closed

Voter registration closed in South Africa after President Jacob Zuma published the election date in the Government Gazette

Despite heavy rains in Gauteng and other parts of the country, which caused some logistic challenges, the commission was pleased with the outcome of this weekend’s final voter registration drive. It was estimated that about 1.2 million people registered to vote across the country on 8 February.

According to the IEC, there was a significant increase in the number of young people who registered to vote on 8 and 9 February.

Reports indicated that about half of all visitors to registration stations on 8 February were new voters aged from 18 to 29 years old.

There was also a reported spike in registrations at stations near universities and colleges, many of which opened for students this week.