The Electoral Commission (IEC) on Wednesday reminded all eligible South African voters that the weekend of 1 and 2 August 2026 marks the final voting station-based registration opportunity.
“The Commission calls on all eligible South Africans who have not yet registered as voters; those who are registered but have not yet inspected their address details for completeness, or those who have moved residence since they last registered, to use this final opportunity to secure their place on the voters’ roll,” Electoral Commission Chief Executive Officer Sy Mamabolo said.
Addressing the media on the state of readiness for the second round of voter registration, Mamabolo said the Commission has completed its final operational preparations for the upcoming voter registration weekend.
“As part of these preparations, the number of voting districts has been revised from 23 706 to 23 699 following the optimisation of voting station arrangements based on voter activity recorded during the first registration weekend. For the final voter registration weekend, the Commission will operate 23 699 voting stations across the country,” he said.
Mamabolo said all registration stations will operate from 8am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.
“The Commission will once again deploy 48 212 trained electoral officials who will be on hand to welcome and assist eligible voters to register, update their details or verify their registration information ahead of the elections,” he said.
During the first voter registration weekend held on 20 and 21 June 2026, over 3 million registration transactions were recorded, reflecting South Africans’ continued commitment to democratic participation.
Mamabolo said the Commission is hopeful that the same spirit of participation will prevail during the final in-person registration drive.
“Following the first voter registration weekend in June 2026, the Electoral Commission has to date recorded more than 815 000 voter registration transactions.
“Of these, approximately 603 572 (74%) were processed through the Online Voter Registration (OVR) portal, underscoring the growing use of the digital online registration platform among South Africans. The highest levels of online registration activity were recorded in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
“Women remain the leading users of the online registration platform, accounting for 61% of all online registration activity. Young people are also embracing digital registration in significant numbers, with the 16–29 age cohort contributing 50% of all online transactions,” he explained.
In addition, the Department of Home Affairs will once again align its operating hours with the Commission’s voter registration activities, ensuring that eligible voters requiring identity documents have access to the necessary services during the registration weekend.
Once the final voter registration weekend has concluded, the Commission anticipates that the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) will proclaim the date of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
Mamabolo said the voters' roll will close at midnight on the day the election is proclaimed.
“From that point onwards, no new voter registrations or changes to existing voter registration details may be processed until after the elections. Consequently, the Electoral Commission will cease all registration drives and deactivate the online voter registration portal,” he said.
He further explained that the Electoral Code of Conduct issued in terms of the Municipal Electoral Act comes into operation until the election results are announced.
“The purpose of the Code is to foster conditions for free and fair elections by creating a climate of tolerance, open public debate and free political campaigning. The Commission wishes to indicate that the “no go” zones go against both the letter and spirit of the Code.
“We reiterate that all registered political parties, the leaders and office bearers of parties, candidates nominated by parties and independent candidates are bound by the Code.”
Mamabolo said candidate nomination processes for party candidates and independent candidates may commence.
“To this end, the Commission has activated the Online Candidate Nomination System to facilitate nomination. The system is accessible via the public website at www.elections.org.za
Eligible voters have also been urged not to wait until the last minute to register or update their details.
"Experience has shown that a surge in registration activity often occurs closer to key deadlines, creating avoidable pressure on registration channels,” he said. - SAnews.gov.za
