Pretoria - Cabinet has urged South Africans, especially the youth, to come in their numbers to register for the local government elections.
Under the slogan "Love your South Africa," the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will open its 20 867 voting stations countrywide on Saturday and Sunday between 8am until 5pm for voter registration.
While many people tend to downplay municipal elections as being inferior to provincial and national elections, this is far from the truth, Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane told a media briefing on Thursday.
"It's important for the people to register to be part of the voters roll so that they can exercise their right and choose which councillors will lead them," explained Chabane.
Local government is the first and most direct level of service delivery and contact for the public.
To avoid having councillors with no experience or poor track records running local governments, all voters should participate.
Chabane called on the youth to seize this weekend and come out in their numbers to register.
Young people between the ages of 18 and 19 will be the target of this weekend's voter registration for the 2011 local government elections.
They are estimated to make up 2.1 million of the population. However, only 238 500 of them are registered.
"Most of these young people were too young to vote in the 2009 elections and it is now their opportunity to become part of our democratic process by registering as voters," explained Chabane.
The local government elections are expected to be held any time between March and May.
The actual date will be announced by Sicelo Shiceka, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, after he is done with consultations with relevant stakeholders.
