Certification of the voters' roll for 2014 elections
Chief Electoral Officer Mosotho Moepya has certified the voters’ roll, setting the stage for 25 390 150 voters to cast their ballots in the 7 May 2014 national and provincial elections.
This is 2 208 153 more voters (9.5% increase) than were on the voters’ roll for the 2009 national and provincial elections and 7.2 million (39.72% increase) more than were on the voters’ roll when it was established for the first time for the 1999 elections.
The voters’ roll reflects a total of 80.80% of registered voters when compared against the estimated voting age population according to estimates from Statistics South Africa. In comparison, registration levels stood at 80% in 1999, 84.6% in 2004 and 84.07% in 2009.
Gauteng has the highest number of voters with just over 6 million followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 5.1 million, the Eastern Cape with 3.24 million and the Western Cape with 2.9 million. Between them these four provinces make up almost 68% of all voters.
The following are the provincial breakdowns:
| NPE 2014 Certified Voters' Roll: 5 March 2014 | |||
| Percentage (%) registration against Stats SA VAP by province | |||
| Province | STATS SA VAP Estimate | Certified Voters' Roll (5 March 2014) |
% Voter registration |
| Eastern Cape | 3 794 352 | 3 240 059 | 85.4% |
| Free State | 1 685 198 | 1 449 488 | 86.0% |
| Gauteng | 7 860 280 | 6 063 739 | 77.1% |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 6 096 509 | 5 117 131 | 83.9% |
| Limpopo | 3 004 795 | 2 440 348 | 81.2% |
| Mpumalanga | 2 389 406 | 1 860 834 | 77.9% |
| North West | 2 120 381 | 1 669 349 | 78.7% |
| Northern Cape | 711 843 | 601 080 | 84.4% |
| Western Cape | 3 771 271 | 2 941 333 | 78.0% |
| Out of Country | 6 789 | ||
| Total | 31 434 035 | 25 390 150 | 80.8% |
An analysis of the changing pattern of the voters’ roll over previous elections shows the continuing migration of people from rural areas to the major centres. The biggest increase in voter numbers over the past 15 years has come in the provinces of Gauteng (up 1.9 million), KwaZulu-Natal (up 1.67 million) and Western Cape (up 1 million). The smallest increase has come from the North West which grew by just 141 677 voters since 1999.
The following is a comparison of the voters’ roll and turnouts for the previous national and provincial elections:
| Voters' Roll Comparison and Turnout | ||||||||
| Elections 1999 | Elections 2004 | Elections 2009 | Elections 2014 | |||||
| Province | 1999 Voters' roll | Total Votes Cast (national ballot) | 2004 Voters' roll | Total Votes Cast (national ballot) | 2009 Voters' roll | Total Votes Cast (national ballot) | 2014 Voters' roll | % Increase in registered voters from 1999 |
| Eastern Cape | 2 454 543 | 2 188 184 | 2 849 486 | 2 277 391 | 3 056 559 | 2 344 098 | 3 240 059 | 24.53% |
| Free State | 1 225 730 | 1 094 776 | 1 321 195 | 1 022 044 | 1 388 588 | 1 069 127 | 1 449 488 | 13.29% |
| Gauteng | 4 154 087 | 3 704 449 | 4 650 594 | 3 504 363 | 5 461 972 | 4 391 699 | 6 063 739 | 31.48% |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 3 443 978 | 2 958 963 | 3 819 864 | 2 765 203 | 4 475 217 | 3 574 326 | 5 117 131 | 29.94% |
| Limpopo | 1 847 766 | 1 660 849 | 2 187 912 | 1 657 596 | 2 256 073 | 1 570 592 | 2 440 348 | 22.10% |
| Mpumalanga | 1 277 783 | 1 132 517 | 1 442 472 | 1 134 092 | 1 696 705 | 1 363 836 | 1 860 834 | 32.79% |
| North West | 1 527 672 | 1 307 532 | 1 749 529 | 1 323 761 | 1 657 544 | 1 135 701 | 1 669 349 | 8.50% |
| Northern Cape | 377 173 | 327 950 | 433 591 | 323 201 | 554 900 | 421 490 | 601 080 | 47.12% |
| Western Cape | 1 864 019 | 1 601 922 | 2 220 283 | 1 605 020 | 2 634 439 | 2 049 097 | 2 941 333 | 41.33% |
| Out of Country | 6 789 | |||||||
| Total | 18 172 751 | 15 977 142 | 20 674 926 | 15 612 671 | 23 181 997 | 17 919 966 | 25 390 150 | 39.72% |
| Registered % | 80.00% | 84.60% | 84.07% | 80.80% | ||||
| Voter turnout % | 87.92% | 75.52% | 77.30% | 7 May 2014 | ||||
A gender analysis shows that women outnumber men by 13.94 million (54.9%) to 11.45 million (45.1%) on the voters’ roll. The voters’ roll also shows that South Africa is still a relatively young population with 49.57% of the registered voters under 40 years old. The biggest segment of voters is those aged 30 – 39 (6.18 million) followed by 20 – 29 year olds (5.7 million) and 40 – 49 year olds (5 million).
The age and gender breakdown is as follows:
|
Age Band |
Female |
Male |
Total |
% |
|
18 - 19 |
349 957 |
296 356 |
646 313 |
2.55% |
|
20 - 29 |
3 098 577 |
2 660 659 |
5 759 236 |
22.68% |
|
30 - 39 |
3 223 740 |
2 956 794 |
6 180 534 |
24.34% |
|
40 - 49 |
2 693 943 |
2 313 558 |
5 007 501 |
19.72% |
|
50 - 59 |
2 111 311 |
1 684 820 |
3 796 131 |
14.95% |
|
60 - 69 |
1 301 401 |
963 313 |
2 264 714 |
8.92% |
|
70 - 79 |
741 549 |
418 950 |
1 160 499 |
4.57% |
|
80 |
417 825 |
157 397 |
575 222 |
2.27% |
|
Total |
13 938 303 |
11 451 847 |
25 390 150 |
|
The certified voters’ roll is available for inspection at all IEC offices around the country. Voters can check their registration details by SMSing their ID number to 32810 (cost R1).
For media queries, please contact:
Kate Bapela
Cell: 082 600 6386
For media interviews, please e-mail requests to: spokesperson@elections.org.za
