South Africa's voter roll exceeds 29 million after youth-driven registration weekend
South Africa's voter roll has grown to over 29 million following a recent registration drive, with the Electoral Commission of South Africa IEC reporting significant youth participation. Of the 1.7 million interactions, 291,806 were new registrations, with nearly half of these from individuals under 29. IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo noted that 46% of new registrations were from voters under 29. KwaZulu-Natal led in youth registrations with 137,046, followed by the Eastern Cape 79,417 and Gauteng 78,405. KZN also had the highest overall registration activity with 427,592. The online portal accounted for 238,733 registrations, predominantly from urban provinces like Gauteng 86,492. Women continued to outnumber men on the voter roll, making up 56% of the weekend's activity, a trend consistent with past elections. However, new registrations showed an even split between genders. Deputy chief electoral officer for electoral matters Masego Sheburi confirmed the roll now stands at over 29 million, with 2.1 million new voters added since May 2024, offset by approximately 800,000 removals due to mortality. The 4.7 million voter interactions during the June and August 2026 registration weekends significantly surpassed the 1.7 million during the 2021 local government elections, partly due to COVID-19 restrictions in 2021. Mamabolo reminded citizens that voters must register and vote in their district of residence for local government elections. The IEC's next focus is on electi