Mbombela - Prospective voters in Mpumalanga are being urged to take advantage of the final voters' registration weekend to register for the coming local government elections.
Altogether, 1 565 voting districts will be opened in the province's 18 local municipalities on Saturday and Sunday to give voters a chance to register if they failed to do so on 5 and 6 February.
"This is your last chance to register for the local government elections, don't miss it," said provincial spokesperson for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Sibusiso Nkosi. "There won't be any chance after this one."
He said the voting stations would be open from 8am to 5pm.
Prospective voters are advised to visit their voting stations to check if their names appear on the voters' roll, to re-register or to register for the first time.
He said all South Africans above the age of 16 were eligible to register to be on the voters' roll, but would only be able to vote once they turn 18.
"It is very important that everyone visit their voting district to ensure that their names appear on the voters' roll as only voters registered in the same voting district will be allowed to vote. The reason being that in municipal elections, people will be voting for their ward councillors and therefore each voter must vote in his or her ward," Nkosi explained.
Nkosi said a large number of prospective voters turned up in Mpumalanga in February.
"Despite all challenges, mostly weather related, the two days were very productive and a total of 244 193 people visited the voting districts, of which 159 785 checked their names according to their voting districts. The others included 44 501 re-registrations and 39 907 new registrations," he said.
He said South Africans who previously registered to vote and wanted to check their registration details may call the IEC toll free from a landline on 0800 11 8000 between 8am and 5pm, send an SMS with their Identity Document (ID) number to 32810 or visit and go to "am I registered?" or "where do I register?"
"Potential voters have to register in person and are reminded to take their green bar-coded ID with them when they go to register," added Nkosi.
Mpumalanga Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Madala Masuku has also urged prospective voters to register this weekend.
"We are encouraging all citizens who are eligible to vote to make use of the opportunity provided by the IEC to register for the local government elections. If you do not register or do not appear in your district voters' roll, you will not be able to vote in the forthcoming local government elections," said Masuku.
The MEC said it was every South Africans democratic right to vote to make their voices heard on matters impacting directly on them at local government level.
Masuku also called upon all those who have applied for their ID books to go and collect them from their respective Home Affairs offices in order to vote.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe announced that the elections will be held on 18 May. - BuaNews
