IEC announces voter registration weekend ahead of local government elections

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has announced the next voter registration weekend ahead of the the upcoming local government elections.

The voter registration drive will take place on 20–21 June 2026 to allow citizens to register or update their voter details to be casting their ballot in the ward where they live, said IEC chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo. The IEC briefed the media on its state of readiness and election preparations in Pretoria on Tuesday.

The election date for the upcoming local government elections has not been announced yet, but by law, the next election must be held within 90 days of the expiry of the current municipal term, which ends on 1 November 2026.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, will therefore have to proclaim a date for the elections to be held between November 2026 and January 2027. “The intended outcome of the registration weekend is to facilitate access to the franchise and broaden electoral participation,” said Mamabolo.

He added that once voter registration processes are completed, the IEC expects the proclamation of the election date by the minister. “Once the election date is proclaimed, eligible voters will have until midnight on that same day to register to vote,” Mamabolo said.

Mamabolo said that the IEC has expanded its nationwide voter education programme to encourage participation in the democratic process. Since the start of the financial year, the commission has reached more than 3.43-million people through community outreach programmes and civic education events across the country.

To strengthen grassroots engagement, the IEC has appointed 530 municipal outreach coordinators who will work in communities to promote voter education and encourage young and first-time voters to register.

The reported numbers of voter registrations is encouraging. Between November 2025 and March 2026, a total of 260,205 new voters registered nationwide, with many using the IEC’s online self-service registration platform.

The IEC also provided an update on the number of registered political parties, which now stands at 508 parties, with 20 new parties registered between October 2025 and February 2026. Of these, 299 are registered nationally, while 209 are registered at provincial, district or metropolitan level.

The commission further warned the public about fake voter registration websites and fraudulent recruitment notices circulating on social media. These sites attempt to collect personal information such as identity numbers and contact details from unsuspecting users.

The IEC emphasised that the only official voter registration websites are registertovote.elections.org.za and elections.org.za, and urged the public not to click on suspicious links.