The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is making final preparations for its upcoming voter registration weekend, urging eligible South Africans to register and verify their details ahead of future elections.
Also see: Why voting matters: The power of your voice
IEC calls on the youth
Thousands of voting stations across the country are expected to open their doors during the registration drive, providing citizens with an opportunity to register for the first time, update their voting district information, or confirm that their details are correctly captured on the national voters’ roll.
The IEC is calling on young people, particularly first-time voters, to take advantage of the registration weekend and participate in the democratic process. Officials say voter registration remains a critical component of ensuring free, fair and credible elections.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo has said, “The Commission has appointed and trained 48,212 registration staff who will be deployed to ensure a smooth and efficient voter registration process across all registration stations.
“Of the appointed staff members, 37,994 are women, and 10,218 are men. Furthermore, 22,599 staff members are under the age of 35, while 19,806 are between the ages of 36 and 50. The rest of the 5807 staff members are aged 51 years and older.”
Resources are being allocated to ensure a smooth and efficient registration weekend with the voter management devices.
Mamabolo continued, “These devices are central to modern voter registration operations, enabling real-time citizenship verification, accurate capture of voter details, and seamless integration with the voters’ roll. Where there is no bandwidth connectivity, these devices will operate by storing registration data on their local storage, and such data will be uploaded later when the device is connected to the network.”
When do South Africans register and vote?
Voter registration stations open from 8 am to 5 pm on Saturday, 20 June, and Sunday, 21 June, across the country.
Local government elections take place on 4 November 2026.
💻⌨️Our elections run on secure systems. Meet the team behind them.
Meet Lizzy Lesejane, part of the IEC ICT division, whose work helps safeguard the technology that supports South Africa’s elections. Watch and discover the people powering democracy behind the scenes. pic.twitter.com/P6pT0uCC2Q
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) June 18, 2026
Also see: Sizwe Dhlomo admits to making a last-minute decision by voting for a different party
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