Final Voter Registration Weekend Draws 1.7 Million South Africans

Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria, Mamabolo announced that 291,806 people, representing 16% of all registration transactions, registered as first-time voters during the weekend of 1 and 2 August.

South Africa's final voter registration weekend ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections recorded a strong public response, with 1.7 million citizens interacting with the Electoral Commission through registration stations and the online voter registration portal. Electoral Commission Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said the turnout reflected growing public participation, particularly among first-time voters and young people preparing to cast their ballots.

Thousands Register to Vote for the First Time

Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria, Mamabolo announced that 291,806 people, representing 16% of all registration transactions, registered as first-time voters during the weekend of 1 and 2 August.

The remaining 1,502,245 registered voters, accounting for 84% of the total activity, used the opportunity to inspect or update their registration details to ensure they are registered in the correct voting district. Mamabolo said this supports the Electoral Commission's message that voters should register and vote in the ward where they live.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of registration activities with 427,592 transactions, followed by Gauteng (314,856) and the Eastern Cape (313,797).

Registration Stations Remain Most Popular

Most voters continued to use physical registration stations, with 1,555,318 transactions completed at 23,699 registration stations across the country. KwaZulu-Natal again led station-based registrations with 386,258 transactions, followed by the Eastern Cape with 295,655 and Gauteng with 228,364.

The online voter registration portal also attracted significant use, recording 238,733 transactions over the two-day period. Gauteng recorded the highest online participation with 86,492 users, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 41,334 and the Western Cape with 33,783, reflecting the greater use of digital services in urban areas.

Young People and Women Drive Registration

Young South Africans continued to play an important role in the registration campaign. People aged 16 to 29 years accounted for 485,757 transactions, making up 26% of the total activity during the weekend.

Nearly 46% of all new voter registrations came from people under the age of 29. KwaZulu-Natal again recorded the highest youth participation with 137,046 registrations, followed by the Eastern Cape with 79,417 and Gauteng with 78,405.

Women also remained the most active participants in the registration process. Female voters accounted for 1,005,790 transactions, or 56% of the total activity, while men recorded 788,261 transactions, representing 44%. Women also made up half of all new voter registrations.

Nearly 4.7 Million Voter Interactions Recorded

Mamabolo said the combined registration drives held in June and August 2026 resulted in almost 4.7 million interactions with voters, a substantial increase compared with the 1.7 million transactions recorded during the single registration weekend before the 2021 Local Government Elections.

Together, the two registration weekends added 754,332 new voters to the national voters' roll, strengthening public participation ahead of the upcoming local government elections.