• Over 100 000 South Africans registered to vote online over the weekend, says the IEC.
• This was during the second voter registration weekend, where more than a million people registered to vote at in-person stalls.
• Over 1 million people had already registered online by November last year.

This past weekend saw the final Voter Registration Weekend where the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) urged South Africans to register to vote in the incoming general elections, expected to be held in a few month’s time even though no concrete date has yet to be set.

According to an announcement from the IEC, over half a million South Africans registered to vote on Saturday, and a further half a million people registered by 13:00 on Sunday.

Apart from registering to vote at in-person voting stations sprung up across the country, the IEC also allows South Africans to register to vote online. It said that across the weekend, over 101 493 South Africans registered on the online portal. The portal surged with so much traffic that the IEC urged those who could not access the site to be patient.

This was less than recorded during the previous event, where 140 000 people registered to vote online.

The IEC had recorded around 1.1 million online registrations before the first Voter Registration Weekend when the commission said its systems were prepared to face the influx of expectant voters.

A Commission spokesperson told Hypertext that a full breakdown of the total number of registrations both online and offline will be released tomorrow.

The Department of Home Affairs also assisted South Africans looking to register over the weekend by issuing identity documents. It said that more than 33 500 people ventured to its offices on Saturday and Sunday to register.

Home Affairs had extended its operating hours over the weekend to deal with the turnout, facilities of the department were open from 08:00 until 17:00 both days.

“This public response is galvanizing us to do more as we prepare to welcome those people who want to visit our offices today,” said Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza, as per SA News.

Over the two days, nearly 23 400 people came to collect their IDs, the department has said. Another 9 100 came to apply for their IDs, many of which were first-time applicants.

Despite the fact there will be no more Voter Registration Weekends, online registrations will continue to be open. If you want to find out how to register to vote online, click here.