Voters' Roll: 20m and counting
David Masango
9 September 2005
South Africa's Voters' Roll now stands at over 20-million, with more people expected to be added as voter registration continues at electoral offices countrywide ahead of SA's 2005/06 municipal elections - the country's third local government elections since 1994.
According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), 827 616 South Africans visited voting stations around the country as part of the 3 September voter registration drive, either to register for the first time or to register under a new address.
Eligible voters who have yet to register can still do so during office hours on any weekday at their nearest electoral office - up until the time the voting date is announced and published in the Government Gazette.
- Find out if (and where) you're registered to vote; find your nearest electoral office - see box on right.
The elections must be held between 7 December 2005 and 1 March 2006.
To register, one needs to
produce a bar-coded identity document or valid temporary identity certificate.
People can only vote in the voting district in which they live, and those who have moved to a district will need to re-register to be reflected in the Voters' Roll for that district.
Addressing journalists in Pretoria on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer Pansy Tlakula said that South Africa's Voters' Roll now stands at 20 717 995.
During the 2004 national and provincial elections, the Voters' Roll stood at 20 674 926. Since then:
- 618 674 people have been removed due to death.
- 209 528 were added who were registered but previously under 18.
- 103 165 have been added through continous registration.
- 57 471 were added through targeted registration in July 2005.
- 291 479 were added through targeted registration on 3 September 2005.
Tlakula said people between the age of 18 and 35 made up nearly half of the people who visited voting stations on 3 September,
while women made up 57% of those who participated.
Since the launch of the 2005/06 Municipal Elections on 30 June up to and including 5 September, the IEC call centre received over 100 000 calls and 153 945 enquiries via the SMS facility and their website recorded over 1.5 million hits.
Source BuaNews
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IEC website
