IEC records 2.9 million voter registration transactions ahead of 2026 local elections

The Electoral Commission (IEC) says South Africans turned out in large numbers during the voter registration weekend, resulting in 2.9 million registration transactions as preparations for the 2026 Local Government Elections gather momentum.

Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday, IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, described the turnout as a strong indication of the country's continued commitment to democratic participation.

“The turnout reaffirms South Africans’ enduring commitment to electoral participation,” Mamabolo said.

According to the Commission, the registration weekend achieved two key objectives: expanding the national voters’ roll and increasing voter registration among young people.

“Over the two voter registration days, the Commission recorded 2.9 million registration transactions. This is an improvement from the 1.7 million transactions recorded during the voter registration weekend for the comparable election in 2021,” Mamabolo said.

The IEC reported that the number of registered voters has now reached 28.5 million, up from the 27.7 million voters registered for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.

Mamabolo noted that while approximately 1.3 million voters had been removed from the roll since the 2024 elections, largely due to mortality, technological improvements and easier registration processes had contributed to the growth in voter numbers.

“The increase in the voters’ roll is attributable to, amongst others, the efficiencies introduced by Voting Management Devices (VMDs), which have significantly enhanced the speed of processing voter registration applications, as well as the convenience of the online registration portal,” he said.

Of the 2.9 million transactions recorded, 477,174 were first-time registrations, representing 16% of all registration activity. The remaining 2.4 million transactions involved voters checking or updating their registration details.

The IEC also welcomed the strong participation of young people. Individuals aged between 16 and 29 accounted for 785,078 registration transactions, or 27% of total activity.

“The Commission is encouraged by the positive response of young persons,” Mamabolo said. “Of the total new registrations, 379,767 or 80% are young people in the age cohort between 16 and 29.”

He added that the figures demonstrate that the Commission’s youth-focused voter registration campaign is yielding positive results.

“The figures indicate that the youth-focused campaign is finding resonance with young persons and that far from it, young people are not apathetic,” he said.

Most voters chose to register at voting stations using Voting Management Devices, with more than 2.5 million transactions, accounting for 88% of all registrations. Meanwhile, 362,296 transactions, or 12%, were completed through the IEC’s online registration portal.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of registration transactions at 691,504, followed by the Eastern Cape with 534,773 and Gauteng with 502,229.

The IEC also revealed that its website received 12 million visits during the two-day registration period.

Citizens who have not yet registered to vote have been encouraged to make use of the online voter registration portal, which will remain open until the official proclamation of the 2026 Local Government Elections.