Sai Mamabolo, Chief Electoral Officer of the South African Electoral Commission. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal account for more than 40% of the electorate, and the results in South Africa's two most populous provinces will influence the overall outcome of the May 29 election.
The South African Electoral Commission (IEC) announced this week that Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal together account for 44% of the country's approximately 28 million registered voters.
According to the IEC, Gauteng has 6.5 million voters and KwaZulu-Natal 5.7 million.
The Eastern Cape came in third place with 3.4 million voters.
KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are the ANC's weakest regions, with opinion polls suggesting its support is likely to fall below 50%. The decline in these states could jeopardize the ANC's national majority.
The Democratic Alliance has entered into multi-party charter agreements with other opposition parties to ensure the ANC's electoral votes in rural areas are reduced.
Speaking while hosting the signing of the electoral code of conduct at the Gallagher Convention Center on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Sai Mamabolo said the certified voter list was 27.7 million voters.
Mamabolo said there had not been a registration of this magnitude in South Africa since 1999, when the voter register was first established.
He said since the IEC launched its online registration portal in July 2021, 2.4 million voters have used the portal to register for the first time or change their registration details.
Mamabolo said that according to historical trends, there are more women voters than men, the former at 15.3 million and the latter at 12.4 million.
“Today, we have expanded our network of polling stations to 23,292 locations, which in ordinary terms means that the Electoral Commission serves more than 23,000 locations across the country. “It means there is,” he said.
“There are 954 temporary sites where physical infrastructure is not available. Procurement of new facilities is underway.”
He said that in accordance with the provisions of the April 12 election schedule, the IEC will publish a list of all polling stations and their locations.
“Today, we have expanded our network of polling stations to 23,292 locations, which in ordinary terms means that the Electoral Commission serves more than 23,000 locations across the country. “It means there is,” he said.
“There are 954 temporary sites where physical infrastructure is not available. Procurement of new facilities is underway.”
He added that special voting applications for home visits and polling station visits will open on April 15 and end on May 3. Home visits are aimed at vulnerable voters and voters who are unable to travel to the polling place.
“The special vote at the polling station is for all those who are unable to go to the polling station on election day. The special vote will be held two days before the election day. The special vote will also be held at the diplomatic missions of the Republic abroad. Masu.
“Currently, 58,000 voters are registered in the International section of the Voter Register. These voters are served by registered diplomatic missions abroad. South Africans who may vote have the opportunity to notify the Commission of their deliberate absence and scheduled voting duties.
“Such notifications must be submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer by 22 April. Currently, 9,100 notifications have been approved. Therefore, at the moment, 67,000 South Africans You are about to vote outside the Republic. This special vote will be held in the Mission approximately 10 days before the national general vote.”
He said there were signs that 70 political parties and 11 independent parties had successfully submitted candidates.
Fifteen political parties are contesting all stages of the election, with a total of more than 14,903 candidates vying for 887 seats in parliament and local councils.
“Due to the nature of the candidate nomination process, there are disputes before the Electoral Court. These may slightly change the number of contestants. The commission will issue a final list of candidates on April 10th. We will publish the list of political parties that will contest in different stages of the elections.”
“As it stands, there are 52 political parties participating in the National Reparations Vote. This obviously means that this ballot paper will be structured as a two-column ballot paper. The remaining 18 ballot papers will remain the single-column ballot paper used since the founding election in 1994. Certificates of candidacy will be issued on April 12.”
Mamabolo added that elections are the cornerstone of the country's democratic project.
He said elections promote legitimacy in governance, electoral accountability, political representation, macropolitical stability and development, and the IEC stands ready to conduct elections in line with constitutional standards and international norms. He added that he wanted to confirm that.
“We express our living determination to the enormous challenges before us. We are ready to ensure that we do not let our homeland down, or else this “History will leave a damaging record of our commitment to the mission,” he said.
