The Electoral Commission (IEC) has set the dates for the second and final voter registration weekend ahead of the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.
General elections will be held next year in South Africa to elect a new National Assembly, as well as the Provincial Legislature in each province. These will be the seventh elections since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The IEC announced on Thursday that the Voter Registration Weekend will take place on 3 and 4 February 2024 to allow new voters to register and existing voters to inspect, and if necessary, update their registration details.
The IEC said that the country’s 23 296 voting stations will open from 8am to 5pm on both days.
“Following the first registration weekend held on 18 and 19 November 2023, the voters’ roll contains 26.8 million voters with 568 374 of those registering for the first time during that period. The Electoral Commission is hopeful that the second registration weekend will build on and surpass the satisfactory turn out recorded in November,” the Commission said in a statement.
South African citizens aged 16 years and older can register to vote, using their green barcoded identity document (ID) or smartcard ID, or a valid temporary ID certificate.
“When registering, voters will need to provide their address or a description of where they live to allow the Electoral Commission to place them on the correct segment of the voters’ roll. However, proof of an address is not a requirement to register as a voter,” the IEC explained.
The Electoral Commission also confirmed that South Africans living abroad will have an opportunity to register at South Africa’s 120 high commissions, embassies and consulates on 26, 27 and 28 January 2024.
A new and additional voter registration modality for South Africans living abroad has been introduced, where South Africans abroad may now register as voters using the online self-registration portal, by capturing their details and uploading a scanned image of their identity document.