IEC says KZN has most new voter registrations

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) had the most people sign up on Saturday morning to participate in the elections as it kicked off its voter registration weekend.

KZN was followed by Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

More than 300 000 applications

By midday on Saturday, more than 330 000 voter registration applications had been recorded, with just over 30 000 of these done online.

“Predicably, provinces with [high] population densities account for the majority of the application transactions,” said the IEC’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Sheburi.

“Early indications point to young people as the majority of applicants.”

With this in mind, he said it was surprising to the IEC that most of the applicants registered at voting stations, rather than online.

“We anticipate that online registrations will peak in hours outside of the voting station, because it is not limited by the hours of the voting stations.”

Community protests

Sheburi said most of the registration stations opened on time, but around 16 were unable to open because of community protests.

“We can only ask those members of communities who have grievances to raise their grievances in a manner that does not impede the exercise of political rights.”

He said the IEC is working with leaders in those areas to resolve any issues the community members have. He added that the police are supporting the IEC in the affected areas.

On the issue of young people not wanting to register because no political party resonates with them, Sheburi said they should make sure they don’t have regrets when the local elections come around.

“It would be a sad day if you find that there’s a candidate that raises matters that connect with your aspirations, but because you didn’t avail yourself to register, you can’t vote to influence affairs in your community,” he said.

The IEC said it will communicate next week whether voting registration will be extended, but as it stands, this is the only voter registration weekend planned.

Political leaders at voting stations

Figures from most of the leading parties visited voting stations on Saturday morning to encourage people to vote.

President Cyril Ramaphosa represented the ANC in KwaThema, Ekurhuleni, and spoke to residents in the area.

On the campaign trail with ANC President Cde Cyril Ramaphosa in KwaThema, where he is engaging residents and interacting with community members ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.#RegisterToVoteANC#ANCWithThePeople#LGE2026 pic.twitter.com/0Bhqriztm0

— ANC – African National Congress (@MYANC)

June 20, 2026

The ANC’s Mammoloko Kubayi was in the Dr WB Rubusana Region in Buffalo City to try convince young people to register.

[IN PICTURES] ANC NEC member, Cde Mammoloko Kubayi has joined the Voter Registration Weekend mobilisation at Ward 1 , Pefferville VD in the Dr WB Rubusana Region encouraging young people to and first time voters to register, verify their details and actively participate in… pic.twitter.com/1ncUHvAuLc

— ANC – African National Congress (@MYANC)

June 20, 2026

EFF leader Julius Malema was in Soweto and Kagiso, Mogale City, where he encouraged the red berets to continue their work despite the bitterly cold weather.

Must Watch

The President and Commander in Chief @Julius_S_Malema addressing EFF Volunteers outside Lufhureng Secondary School Voting Station in Soweto.

Register To Vote EFF In The 2026 Local Government Elections To Be Held On The 4th of November 2026

Link:… pic.twitter.com/k6CpHDmaIg

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica)

June 20, 2026

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis was on the streets in Cape Town, including Mitchells Plain to speak to potential first-time voters.

Excited to see young South Africans like Megan and Shakeer register to vote for the first time!

In the streets of Mitchells Plain, we're helping residents register to vote so that we can take Cape Town forward!

Across South Africa, it’s registration weekend this… pic.twitter.com/OTKxIQr8OY

— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl)

June 20, 2026

Meanwhile, Helen Zille, who is the DA’s candidate for mayor in Johannesburg, was at Panorama Primary School. She said the DA aims to get 37 new voters registered at each district in Joburg.

Lorraine Arbuckle speaks to DA mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg, Helen Zille, at Panorama Primary School, Weltevredenpark, 20 June 2026, as she visits voting stations across Johannesburg this voter registration weekend. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen

“We welcome every single voter that comes out to register, to reregister or to check their registrations. We’ve got quite a nice list growing there and hopefully by the end of the weekend we’ll have 37 new registrations,” she said.