Elections 2024: IEC confirms voter registration closes on Friday
The IEC has confirmed that there’s 27.6 million million registered voters nationwide on the voters’ roll for the upcoming national and provincial elections.
South Africans have until Friday to register to vote in the 2024 national and provincial elections, as voter registration will close on that day.
On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the election date will be Wednesday, 29 May 2024. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) welcomed the announcement, saying it would “pull out all the stops” in preparation for the polling day.
VOTERS HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY 23 FEBRUARY TO REGISTER – IEC
“The Electoral Commission reminds South Africans that, while the date has been set and announced, eligible voters have until Friday, 23 February 2024, to register. The later date is the anticipated day of the proclamation of the election date,” IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said in a statement.
According to the Daily Maverick, the IEC said that the proclamation in the Government Gazette closes the voters’ roll, according to section 24 of the Electoral Act as amended. Eligible voters are reminded to register where they live and vote at the voting station where they are registered.
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27.6 MILLION REGISTERED VOTERS ON VOTERS’ ROLL
Earlier this month, the IEC wrapped up its voter registration weekend drives. Bapela said that “following this overall voter registration campaign, the voters’ roll now stands at 27.6 million voters”. South Africa has an eligible voting pool of about 42.3 million people.
“Following the proclamation of the election date, the Electoral Commission will publish the Election Timetable in the Government Gazette after consultation with the National Party Liaison Committee. The Election Timetable will outline the various cut-off dates for performing certain electoral activities,” said Bapela.
TO UPDATE YOUR ADDRESS DETAILS VISIT IEC OFFICES
South Africans who still want to register to vote and need to update their address details can visit the IEC’s offices in their municipality or use the IEC online voter registration portal.
“I call on all South Africans to exercise their democratic right to vote and for those who will campaign to do so peacefully, within the full observance of the law. We also urge unregistered voters to use the online registration platform to register,” said Ramaphosa said in a statement.