Over 300k SAns visited voter registration centres within first few hours of opening

JOHANNESBURG - Over 300,000 people visited voter registration centres within the first few hours of opening on Saturday.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) gave an update on the progress of the final registration drive on Saturday afternoon ahead of the seventh democratic elections in the country in 2024.

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It said 55,000 of the people who registered on Saturday were first-time voters.

Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Sheburi: "This early turnout not only sets a positive tone for the registration period but also sets a tone that residents remain engaged with the affairs of their country.”

Sheburi said the IEC's online platform also saw thousands of registrations.

"Today alone, the online portal recorded over 20,000 transactions. Of those, 7,234 were new registrations, ie, persons entering the voters roll for the first time."

Over 300k SAns visited voter registration centres within first few hours of opening - IEC

The commission said the early turnout thus far at the final voter registration weekend was an indication that residents remained ‘engaged with the affairs of their country’.