Register to vote this weekend
People eligible to vote are encouraged to register in their voting district.
THE Independent Election Commission (IEC) has called on eligible voters to register to vote for the 2016 Municipal Elections.
Voters who are already registered are able to update and check their details at voting stations throughout the country.
Voting stations will be open between 8:00 and 17:00 on Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6, to assist:
• Those who have never registered before, to register as voters for the first time;
• Voters who have moved since the last municipal elections to re-register in their new voting district; and
• Those who need to re-register as their ward or voting district boundary may have changed.
Approximately 52 000 staff are trained and ready to assist voters, and 22 570 voting station venues have been identified.
Registration process:
Applicants should have with them a valid South African green bar-coded ID book, a smartcard ID or a valid Temporary Identity Certificate.
Applicants will need to provide proof that they reside in the voting district in which 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.
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 do not ordinarily reside.
To find your 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#; and
• Use the Voting Station Finder App on www.elections.org.za
When registering, voters’ ID documents are scanned by Zip-Zip machines to capture the barcode before being issued with a registration receipt showing the voting district in which they have applied for registration. This receipt is stuck into a voter’s ID book (in the case of a green barcoded ID) or affixed to a receipt in the case of smartcard IDs.
The applications will be uploaded and applicants can check the success of their registration application by SMSing their ID number to 32810 (cost R1), visiting www.elections.org.za or calling 0800 11 8000.
Also read:
How to register / re-register for the 2016 Municipal Elections
A guide to voting during elections
