Young people aged between 16 and 29 years account for 78. 31% new voter registrations, IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo confirmed.
The figure equates to 445 089 of 568 374 of the new eligible voters who were registering for the first time.
Mamabolo who was briefing the media post the voter registration weekend said the IEC recorded 2 904 037 total voter registrations over the two day period.
“The commission’s continued focus on young people is producing a good yield. The commission will be persistent in efforts to improve the registration levels of the youth,” said Mamabolo.
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The majority of the voters being 2.7 million visited voting stations while 196 511 utilised online portals.
The total first time registrations 568 374 signals almost 20% of total registrations, a far contrast of the 14 million new voters that the IEC is targeting.
The total voter’s roll now stands at 26.8 million voters, an increase from 26.3 million before the registration weekend.
A trend of women dominating the voters roll continued. The figures indicate that of the new registrations 52.5% were women.
“The commission reiterates that the participation levels in the voter registration process are a demonstration of the commitment of South Africans to the electoral democracy.
“On its part, the commission will spare no efforts to ensure that eligible citizens are afforded ample opportunity to be on the voters roll,” he said.
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The IEC is expected to announce a second registration weekend in February, which will be the last opportunity for registering of new voters, verification of old ones and checking of particulars.
Mamabolo said that will be an opportunity for those who may have been hindered from accessing voting stations this past weekend.
Areas such as Protea Glen and Jabulani were some of the reported incidents where voting stations were disrupted and closed in service delivery matters.
