The Electoral Commission welcomes the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the national and provincial elections will be held on 8 May 2019.
The announcement provides a clear and certain target for final preparations by all stakeholders including the Electoral Commission, political parties and voters.
The Electoral Commission reminds all eligible voters that the announcement of the date of the elections is not the same as proclamation of the elections.
This means that eligible voters can still register to vote in the 8 May elections until the day of proclamation. Voter registration is available during office hours at local IEC offices, usually located at municipal offices. A list of offices is available on the IEC website at www.elections.org.za or at the Contact Centre on 0800 11 8000.
Registered voters can also still update and change their registration and provide their address details via the Electoral Commission's "Click, Check and Confirm" facility on the website.
Proclamation is a formal, legal action through a government gazette which triggers the start of the official election timetable and its associated electoral processes. These electoral processes include the closing of the voters' roll, the cut of date for the submission of lists of candidates, certification of the voters roll, opening of special vote applications, etc. The election timetable will be discussed with political parties and published immediately following the proclamation of elections.
The President and provincial Premiers are expected to proclaim the election date towards the end of February 2019.