Gauteng IEC encouraged by positive response to voter registration

The Electoral Commission (IEC) in Gauteng says it is encouraged by the number of people who visited registration stations during the final in-person voter registration weekend ahead of the upcoming local government elections.

While many residents visited Home Affairs offices to collect or apply for identity documents (ID) before registering, others remained hesitant, saying they have lost confidence in the electoral process due to ongoing service delivery challenges in their communities.

Soweto residents were among those who braved the cold weather in the morning to visit Home Affairs offices and voting stations on the final day of in-person voter registration.

Resident, 19-year-old Bonginkosi Msikili says obtaining an ID represents an opportunity to participate in shaping the country’s future.

“Getting my identity document from Home Affairs means a lot to me because I need it to go and register to vote. I know there are lot of people who are saying they won’t vote. But what I want to say is that all of us should go and vote so that we can see positive change,” explains Msikili.

Despite frustrations over poor service delivery, including uncollected refuse, burst water pipes and overflowing sewage in some communities, many residents say voting remains an important way of demanding accountability.

One resident encouraged South Africans not to give up on the democratic process.

“I will encourage everybody to go and vote … we really need change. We need the right people to take the city serious. Somebody who will say I am not going to vote because we are not getting service delivery … to be honest with that person, it is not fair.”

Meanwhile, Gauteng police say the registration weekend was largely peaceful, with only two incidents reported across the province.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili says one of the cases involved a break-in at a voting station in Tsakane.

“When the registration started, up to now we only received two incidences where cases have been registered. One is, case of theft and another case of theft and it happened overnight in Tsakane where they broke into one of the voting stations there and stole some of the items from IEC. The case will be registered,” adds Muridili.

The Electoral Commission says eligible voters who did not register over the weekend still have an opportunity to register online before the election date is officially proclaimed.

IEC Gauteng Communications Manager Moses Pitso says voter registration will close once the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) announces the election date.

“This week is very crucial because after today the Minister of CoGTA might proclaim the election date and when he does that voter registration is going to stop. Those people who will visit our offices they will go there. [After proclamation] voter registration will not take place even those who are registering themselves online. That too will shut on that day,” explains Pitso.

The IEC says more than 48 000 trained electoral officials were deployed across the country during the registration weekend to assist voters in registering, updating their details and verifying their information ahead of the local government elections.

LGE 2026 | Update from Actonville, Ekurhuleni with Nomvuyo Ntanjana