Electoral rolls boosted by registration drives

Concerns over voter apathy appeared to have been allayed after 1.3 million eligible South Africans turned out at the weekend to add their names to the electoral rolls ahead of general elections scheduled for later this year.

"The second registration drive proved very successful and we are pleased with the turnout, which surpassed all expectations," Pansy Tlakula, chief electoral officer of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), told IRIN.

The campaign was aimed at people who had never registered as voters, and those who had moved from one voting district to another. During the first registration drive in November last year only around three percent of the estimated number of potential but unregistered voters were entered on the voters' roll.

In view of these results, the IEC admitted that it would have preferred a higher turnout and moved to hold a second voter registration weekend.

The initial poor showing ignited a debate over whether South Africans - especially the youth - had become complacent about their hard-won democracy, but preliminary results from the 25 and 26 February effort showed that some 59 percent of people who turned up at the 17,000 voting stations were between 18 and 25 years old.

"Contrary to speculation, the youth in this country remain committed to sustaining democracy and the latest figures show this. The IEC has always said that there is no scientific basis for claims made by some commentators that South African voters, especially the youth, are no longer interested in democracy," Tlakula noted.

She remarked that many young people checked their registration details via cell phone and internet technology, as well as on the toll-free IEC telephone number. "We tried to make the process as efficient as possible, so that eligible voters do not feel inconvenienced."

Unlike the first round, there was a greater turnout in urban areas. "The IEC campaign had specifically targeted urban residents, and this ... worked. Of the 1.3 million who registered at the weekend, 67 percent live either in the metro areas, or in areas classified as urban," Tlakula said.

South Africa had 19.4 million names on the electoral roll prior to the second registration weekend, of a total of around 27.4 million potential voters.

The IEC has stressed that people will still be able to register at municipal offices until at least February 11, when President Thabo Mbeki is expected announce the election date in parliament.