More than 10 000 KwaDukuza residents registered to vote or updated their voter information ahead of the November 4 local government elections last weekend.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) recorded 10 393 voter registration transactions across the municipality’s 30 wards during the second and final voter registration weekend.

These included 1 519 first-time voter registrations, while the remainder updated their details, re-registered at the same voting station or transferred to different voting districts.

The figures are lower than those recorded during the previous voter registration weekend, when 20 517 voter transactions, including 2 941 new registrations, were processed across KwaDukuza.

Of the latest registration transactions, 9 151 involved voters aged 21 and older, while 1 125 were recorded for people aged between 18 and 21.

A further 117 registrations came from people under the age of 18.

Women accounted for the majority of registration activity, with 5 663 transactions compared to 4 730 by men.

Ward 22 recorded the highest number of transactions, with 709, followed by Ward 14 with 557 and Ward 6 with 456.

Wards 15 and 20 also recorded strong turnout, processing 449 and 445 transactions respectively.
IEC iLembe regional manager Paul Daniel encouraged eligible voters to register before the voters’ roll closes.

“The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has indicated that the election date will be gazetted on Friday, August 7. The voters’ roll will close at midnight on that day. People can still register online, at IEC offices or via WhatsApp, but there will not be another voter registration weekend,” said Daniel.