Nearly 3 million voter registration transactions recorded ahead of local government elections

By Thapelo Molefe

Nearly three million voter registration transactions were recorded during the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) voter registration weekend, with young people accounting for 80% of all new registrations ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

Briefing the media on Monday, IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said 2.9 million registration transactions were processed during the registration weekend held this past weekend.

ALSO READ: In Photos: Mashatile woos Chinese investors as working visit continues

The figure marks a significant increase from the 1.7 million transactions recorded during the comparable voter registration weekend before the 2021 local government elections.

“The Electoral Commission has achieved two significant objectives during this voter registration weekend. Firstly, the continued growth of the voters’ roll and secondly, improved registration yield from young persons,” Mamabolo said.

According to the IEC, 477,174 of the transactions were first-time registrations, while 2.4 million voters used the opportunity to inspect and