No additional voter registration weekend before 2026 LGE: IEC
The Electoral Commission (IEC) says this weekend marks the final voter registration weekend ahead of the 2026 local government elections (LGE).
The IEC says there will be no additional registration weekends, as the electoral timetable must comply with constitutional deadlines.
While online registration will remain available, the commission says people may experience delays due to high demand.
Preliminary figures from the Commission show 80% of new registrations are young people.
By Saturday midday, Gauteng recorded more than 41 000 voter transactions.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says the country’s most populous provinces recorded the highest levels of voter activity.
“Preliminary figures indicate that the highest volumes of voter transactions are currently being recorded in in KwaZulu-Natal with 55 759, Eastern Cape with 46 889 and Gauteng with 41 774. This is consistent with historical patterns and reflects the population densities of the provinces.
Other provinces, including Limpopo with 29 680, Western Cape 19 693, Mpumalanga 17218, North West 15 610, Free State 13 110 and Northern Cape 6 213 are also recording voter activity as citizens respond positively,” adds Mamabolo.
IEC media briefing | 01 August 2026
While many residents visited registration stations to verify or update their details, others raised concerns about illegal dumping, water leaks, crime and poor service delivery.
Diepkloof resident, Brenda Nkabinde says voting gives communities an opportunity to demand change.
“As you can see the water is running down through the park and as I exercise in the mornings, I can’t use the equipment that is there and it’s quite difficult. The illegal dumping as well. Yes, they do come and clean up, but people still come and throw their dirt over there. As you can see, it’s very unhealthy.”
“Registering and voting is very important so that as a community we will be able to have a say in the change that’s supposed to happen in our community, have a say in what is happening in the community in terms of crime, service delivery. There are a lot of things that need to be changed as well.”
Community leaders in Soweto encouraged young people to register and verify their voter details.
One of the leaders, Thabiso Mollo, says communities must also take responsibility to look after their surroundings.
“We need also to talk about the responsibility that the community must take before government comes and delivers services. We need to start with ourselves because of the illegal dumping that is happening here. It’s mainly because of the same community members around here. I think we must encourage young people to go and vote and also to register because we’ve got challenges of illegal dumping, we’ve got potholes, we’ve got young people who have matric but they cannot further their education because no one is taking care of them. So, they must go and register to vote so that they can bring service to themselves.”
In Johannesburg’s inner city, some residents visited the Department of Home Affairs to collect their identity documents before registering to vote.
Johannesburg resident Thulani Mthembu believes voting can change things.
“I’m here to collect my ID that I lost a long time ago. I want to make sure that I register. it is important for me to do that because I want to see change in this country.”
The IEC says once registration closes, preparations will shift to other key electoral processes ahead of the local government elections on the 4th of November.
LGE 2026 | Final Voter Registration Weekend continues at Jeppe Hostel
