The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has announced that voter registration for the upcoming local government elections will take place on 20 and 21 June.
Providing an update on the commission’s readiness for the polls, IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said the registration weekend forms part of preparations to ensure the commission is ready to conduct elections once the official date is proclaimed.
“Following the completion of the process of voter registration, we anticipate the proclamation of the election date. Once a date is proclaimed, eligible voters will have until midnight on that same day to register to vote,” Mamabolo said.
Mamabolo revealed that around two-hundred and sixty thousand new online voter registrations were recorded between November 2025 and March 2026.
He said announcing the registration weekend early is important as it allows voters to determine where they will be on election day, which influences the voting district where they should register.
Mamabolo also noted that several voting district boundaries have been revised due to population movements and ward boundary adjustments ahead of the elections.
“This revision often results in the disestablishment of some voting districts and the creation of new ones to ensure these administrative entities remain accessible and aligned with updated ward boundaries and current population sizes,” he said.
To assist voters affected by the changes, the IEC plans to deploy field workers to conduct targeted door-to-door registration campaigns.
Mamabolo added that KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have the highest number of voting districts that have been subdivided following the boundary adjustments.
He encouraged voters to check and update their registration details through the IEC’s online voter registration platform.
