The Electoral Commission (IEC) in KwaZulu-Natal says it is fully prepared for the country's first national voter registration weekend, set to take place on Saturday and Sunday.
KwaZulu-Natal remains the province with the highest number of registered voters in South Africa, and electoral officials say all systems are in place to ensure a smooth registration process.
A total of 5,021 voting stations across the province will be open over the weekend, an increase of 47 polling stations compared to the 2024 national elections.
The province has also experienced significant changes to its electoral landscape following the Municipal Demarcation Board's realignment of municipal boundaries. The number of wards in KwaZulu-Natal has increased from 901 to 921, affecting more than 1,100 voting districts.
As a result, thousands of voters are required to re-register to ensure they are assigned to the correct ward and voting station.
The IEC says it has so far updated the registration details of more than 93,000 voters, but estimates that this represents only about 25% of those who need to re-register.
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga urged voters to check whether changes to ward boundaries have affected their registration status.
"So we're trying to make sure that people understand that if I was in Ward 1 and I'm now in Ward 2, I need to re-register so that my name appears on the Ward 2 voters' roll," Masinga said.
She warned that voters who fail to update their details could arrive at polling stations on election day only to find that they are no longer registered there.
"People will show up at voting stations and find their names are no longer at that station. Chances are they won't vote because they become frustrated and lose interest," she said.
On security preparations, Masinga said the IEC continues to work closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the State Security Agency to assess potential risks ahead of the registration weekend.
The province has recently experienced tensions linked to anti-immigration protests, raising concerns about public safety at some voting stations.
Masinga said security agencies classify voting stations according to risk levels, with police deployments adjusted accordingly.
"For medium- and low-risk voting stations, there are no static deployments, but police members patrol throughout the registration weekend. At high-risk voting stations, officers will be stationed at the venues throughout the day," she explained.
The IEC is still awaiting the final list of voting stations that have been classified as high risk and where permanent police deployments will be in place during the registration weekend.
Electoral officials have encouraged all eligible voters, particularly those affected by boundary changes, to visit their nearest voting station this weekend to register or update their details ahead of future elections.