- The final deadline to register for this year's elections is this weekend.
- You can check whether you are registered - and update your details, including your voting station online.
- We gave it a try and the process is pretty painless.
Officially, this coming weekend (January 26 and 27), is the final deadline to register for the upcoming national and provincial elections. (Students get a final, final chance in the first week of February.)
The IEC has made it possible to check your registration status or update your details online - we gave it a try, and it took less than five minutes to get it done.
First, check whether - and where - you're registered to vote:
All South African citizens aged 16 and older, and in possession of an official ID document, can register as voters (although only those who are at least 18 years old on voting day may vote).
Unfortunately, first-time registration for new voters can only be done in person at one of the country’s 22,932 voting stations that will open from 08:00 to 17:00 on Saturday 26 January and Sunday 27 January 2019.
Although you might have voted before, it's safe to check your registration status and most importantly where you're supposed to vote by going to: www.elections.org.za/regweekend then keying in your 13-digit SA ID number followed by the verification code (that blurred number in the red box).
Check where your closest voting station is
Search for it on maps.elections.org.za/vsfinder
If you are not registered to vote at the voting station closest to you, you need to update your details.
If you moved countries, towns or even house - then you have to update the address.
To change or update the address to your current one, simply head over to the My IEC portal: www.elections.org.za/MyIEC
The My IEC portal allows you to access your voter registration details, online services and even engage with the IEC securely and conveniently - but first, you'll have to sign up by creating a user profile
Creating a profile takes less than a minute. You can create a new profile here: www.elections.org.za/MyIEC/Account/Register then enter your ID, full names as they appear on your ID in the first name(s) field followed by surname, cellphone number and or email address.
For confirmation purposes, you can choose to receive a one-time password via SMS... .
Or alternatively by email (by simply clicking on a verification link).
After registration you will now be able to login with your ID or email address as the username and water-tight password (at the insistence of the IEC) to check registration status
After logging in, you will now be able to see electoral details such as your ward number, voting district number but most importantly your voting station, its address and a link to a map of where it is located.
To change your address simply click or tap the 'Edit/Update Address' button and enter your current residential address
Upon changing your old address to your new/current one, don't be alarmed by the IEC's very serious notice (which they also email to you) to confirm that you're about to update the voter's roll with new details. Simply ensure that the address is correct and accept.
After accepting the terms and conditions you will have to wait about an hour before the new address reflects on your voter registration details
You will also be able to see who the ward councillor in your new residential area is including their affiliation and the details of the municipality you now fall under and their contact details.
Read more: SA parties just got an effective 33% discount to register for the 2019 elections
Receive a single WhatsApp every morning with all our latest news: click here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- Cryptocurrencies have just been declared hobbyist ‘financial instruments’ in South Africa – here’s what that means
- The FT correspondent in SA is reporting on the UK as if it’s an African country - and it’s hilarious
- Uber Eats and Mr D Food charge restaurants up to 30% commission – but ask them not to charge more
- This app gives you free restaurant meals in SA - but you need to be beautiful
- A Toto song will play ‘forever’ in the middle of the Namib desert – or at least until the sand eats it
