Do not delay if you want to help choose the government that will create and enforce South Africa’s legislation for the next five years.

Time is running out for people who have not registered to vote as, according to his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce the election date by the end of the coming week.

According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa, known as the IEC, voter registration will close at midnight on the day that the election date is proclaimed and published in the Government Gazette.

Magwenya has said there should not be a ‘lag between the time he [Ramaphosa] announces and the time he proclaims’.

The bottom line is that if your name is not yet on the voters’ roll or you have not updated your details, you need to get a move on if you want to play your part in shaping our country’s future, by voting on election day.

After the second and final voter registration weekend held early in February, IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said that more than 27.4 million people were registered to vote and that 1.2 million new voters have been added to the voters’ roll since November.

In total, over two million citizens interacted with the IEC during the second voter registration weekend, either via their voting station or the online voter registration portal.

Of those interactions, 457 384 (22%) were new entrants on the voters’ roll, while over 1.6 million (88%) inspected and updated their registration details.

KZN recorded 510 670 transactions, followed by Gauteng (452 596) and the Eastern Cape (305 460).

In terms of new registrations, 352 524 (77%) were youth under the age of 29.

Election day date

In terms of the Constitution, the elections must be held within 90 days of the expiry of the current term of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures, so South Africa’s seventh democratic elections must be held between May and August 2024.

Register today

People who have not yet registered and want to vote must go online or visit their local IEC office as soon as possible – they may have only days left to do so because registration will close once the election date has been proclaimed.

To register online, click here and follow the prompts for your details.

• Make sure you have your South African ID smart card or barcoded green ID book with you when you register, as you will need to scan a copy of it.
• You will receive a notification as soon as your registration is processed.
• If you don’t have data, you can register on someone else’s device.

You can also register at your local IEC office on weekdays during office hours, from 08:00 to 17:00.

Click here to find the contact details of your local IEC office.

If you want to confirm your registration status, SMS your ID number to 32810.

Contact the IEC at 0800 11 8000.