Pretoria - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Thursday confirmed that its chief electoral officer, Mosotho Moepya, has certified the voters’ roll for the upcoming general election.
By certifying the voters’ roll, Moepya set the stage for 25 390 150 voters to cast their ballots in the May 7 national and provincial elections.
This is 2 208 153 more voters (9.5% increase) than were on the voters’ roll for the 2009 general elections and 7.2 million (39.72% increase) more than were on the voters’ roll when it was established for the first time for the 1999 elections.
The voters’ roll reflects a total of 80.8% of registered voters when compared to the estimated voting age population, according to estimates from Statistics South Africa.
In comparison, registration levels stood at 80% in 1999, 84.6% in 2004 and 84.07% in 2009.
Gauteng has the highest number of voters, with just over six million followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 5.1 million, the Eastern Cape with 3.24 million and the Western Cape with 2.9 million. Between them, these four provinces make up almost 68% of all voters.
Provincial breakdowns
An analysis of the changing pattern of the voters’ roll over the previous elections shows the continuing migration of people from rural areas to the major city centres.
The biggest increase in voter numbers over the past 15 years has come in the provinces of Gauteng (up 1.9 million), KwaZulu-Natal (up 1.67 million) and Western Cape (up one million).
The smallest increase has come from the North West, which grew by just 141 677 voters since 1999.
A comparison of the voters’ roll and turnouts for the previous national and provincial elections shows that:
- Women out number men by 13.94 million (54.9%) to 11.45 million (45.1%) on the voters’ roll;
- South Africa is still a relatively young population, with 49.57% of the registered voters under 40 years old; and
- The biggest segment of voters is those aged 30 – 39 (6.18 million), followed by 20 – 29 year olds (5.7 million) and 40 – 49 year olds (five million).
The certified voters’ roll is available for inspection at all IEC offices around the country.
Voters can check their registration details by SMSing their ID number to 32810. - SAnews.gov.za
