Hundreds of thousands of South Africans are expected to cast their vote in country’s seventh democratic elections on Wednesday, dubbed to be one of the most fiercely contested elections in SA’s history.
Each registered voter will receive three ballot papers indicating the political party they want to vote for, for National Assembly (blue ballot paper), Regional to National Assembly (orange ballot paper) and Provincial Legislature (pink ballot paper).
Let’s take a look at how many people are expected to line up at polling stations.
According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), it approved a total of 1,668,076 special vote applications, of which 624,593 were for voters who will be visited at their homes or places of confinement and 1,043,483 are voters who will vote at voting stations where they are registered.
Gauteng registered the highest number of voters at 6,531,450 followed by 5,728,165 and the Eastern Cape with 3,431,097.
Provincial breakdown:
- Eastern Cape — 3,431,097
- Free State — 1,453,796
- Gauteng — 6,531,450
- KwaZulu-Natal — 5,728,165
- Mpumalanga — 2,021,423
- Northern Cape — 655,284
- Limpopo — 2,775,182
- North West — 1,765,069
- Western Cape — 3,310,798
As per the latest statistics from the IEC, there are more women registered to vote this time around.
Demographics by age/gender
- In the 18 to 19 age group — 237,589 are male while 312,627 are female.
- In the 20 to 29 age group — 1,976,143 are male while 2,419,293 are female.
- In the 30 to 39 age group — 3,151,484 are male while 3,656,621 are female.
- In the 40 to 49 age group — 2,849,384 are male while 3,138,164 are female.
- In the 50 to 59 age group — 2,059,431 are male while 2,501,752 are female.
- In the 60 to 69 age group — 1,318,882 are male while 1,805,144 are female.
- In the 70 to 79 age group — 583,161 are male while 945,223 are female.
- In the 80+ age group — 208,027 while 509,339 are female.
Overall — there are 12,384,101 male voters and 15,288,163 female voters.
What you need to know if you’re going to vote on Wednesday
Don’t forget your ID and remember to vote where you are registered.
IOL Politics