IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says young people dominated new registrations, accounting for 80% of first-time voters during the latest voter registration weekend.
Following the first voter registration weekend ahead of the local government elections on November 4, South Africa's young people have emerged as a formidable force in boosting voter registration numbers across the nation.
According to the latest report from the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), the total number of registered voters has now exceeded 28.8 million, marking a significant uptick from previous years' figures, particularly noted during the 2021 registration weekend, which drew in just 1.7 million voters.
On Monday, IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo provided an informative media briefing on the numbers recorded over the recent registration weekend.
The statistics reveal a landmark 2.9 million registrations, with approximately 785,078 young individuals aged 16 to 29 stepping up to register to vote this year. This demographic makes up a considerable 27% of the total registrations and is predominantly female, with 59% of the registrations coming from young women and 41% from young men.
