By Kaya 959 Reporter
Close to 700 000 people have registered to vote in November 1’s local government elections.
The Electoral Commission said on Sunday, 29 305 voters registered on Sunday in addition to the 598 000 people who registered on Saturday with 39 519 voters making use of the elections portal, which closes at midnight on Monday.
“The use of the new Voter Management Devices meant that the reported transactions were already processed into the voters roll with corresponding addresses.
“Previously, there would have been a need to capture addresses and do a national population verification procedure,” the commission said.
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Registration kicked off on Saturday morning at 23 151 registration stations across the country which were manned by 48 899 trained Electoral Commission staff.
In the first few hours of the first day of the two-day registration weekend, over 104 00 South African voters visited their voting stations to register, to re-register and to update their registration and address details.
The Commission said only nine of the 23 151 registration stations failed to open on Sunday due to service delivery protests in those areas.
“The registration weekend has also seen heightened use of the online portal for registration. So far, 39 519 voters have registered for the elections using the portal, which remains open until midnight on Monday. We encourage South Africans to continue making use of this facility,” the commission said.
Applications for Special Votes will open on Monday and the Commission urges people who wish to apply for a Special Vote, to apply online or at their Municipal Electoral Officer’s office.
The Commission said the nomination of candidates for the municipal elections will close on Tuesday, 21 September.
Voter registration for #LGE2021 continues online at https://t.co/QFgJgjwl82 until midnight on Mon, 20 Sept, proclamation day. Or register at your registration station by 5pm today, 19 Sept. Find your station at https://t.co/vX8GuECIwi. #evervoicetogether pic.twitter.com/a9Futp2iB8
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) September 19, 2021
Do I qualify for a special vote?
You can apply if you:
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Are a registered voter;
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Have a valid South African identity document (green, barcoded ID book; smartcard ID, or a valid Temporary Identity Certificate).
To check that you’re registered and to find out where you’re registered, you can:
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Check your voter registration status;
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SMS your ID number to 32810; or
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Call the IEC’s contact centre on 0800 11 8000.
By law, you can apply for a special vote if you:
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Can’t travel to your voting station because you are physically infirm, disabled or pregnant, or
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can’t vote at your voting station on election day.
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