Hlabisa expected to proclaim election date after registration drive

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa, is expected to proclaim the election date after this weekend’s final voter registration drive.

The announcement will mark a critical milestone in the country’s electoral calendar, as municipalities prepare for the November polls.

IN PICTURES | Electoral Commission (IEC) CEO Sy Mamabolo says the two voter registration weekends are guided by the country’s constitutional election timetable. Mamabolo was speaking during a media briefing on Saturday in Pretoria.

Mamabolo says voter registration must close at… pic.twitter.com/J3Kk1YPsJv

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Speaking during a media briefing in Pretoria, the Electoral Commission’s Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said the online voter registration portal will remain operational to allow eligible citizens to register and update their details until the election date is officially proclaimed.

Once the proclamation is gazetted, the voters’ roll will close, and no further registrations or amendments will be permitted until after the elections.

The IEC says preliminary figures from the first day of registrations indicate that KwaZulu-Natal is recording the highest number of voter registration transactions, followed by the Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

“The commission welcomes the encouraging turnout of South Africans who have visited registration stations this morning. We are equally encouraged by the continued uptake of the online voter registration portal. While online voter registration continues, the users may experience delayed responses owing to volume on the free data facility. Voters using this facility are urged to try later in the day or visit their voting stations to register. The online voter portal remains active to allow voters to register and update their details accordingly to avoid missing out on this important occasion, the 2026 Local Government Elections.”