More than 600,000 people registered to vote in metro and IEC expects registrations to translate into high turnout in Eastern CapeBay leads charge as election fever builds

• Published date: 07 May 2024
• Publication title: Herald, The (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)

An impressive 601,715 people are registered to vote in Nelson Mandela Bay in the May 29 national and provincial elections, with the majority being women

A total of 32,653 new voters in the metro have been added to the voters’ roll.

The figures ensure the Bay remains the region with the highest number of registered voters in the province, comprising 17.5% of the total of 3.43-million people registered.

In the 2021 local government elections, 583,270 people in the Bay were registered to vote and the turnout was 46.07%, narrowly surpassing Buffalo City Metro (BCM), which recorded 45.64%.

The total turnout in the province was 46.81%.

Though the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) expects the registrations to translate into a high turnout later in May, a political analyst says several factors will determine the mood of voters on the day.

In the Bay, women account for 336,665 of registered voters, considerably more than the 265,050 men registered.

The highest numbers of registrations were recorded in Ward 1 (13,789), Ward 60 (13,444) and Ward 40 (12,942).

Ward 1 includes the Summerstrand, Sardinia Bay and Seaview areas, Ward 60 encompasses areas such as Wells Estate, Coega and Bluewater Bay, while Ward 40 includes Kuyga, Kragga Kamma and Lakeside.

Prospective voters between the ages of 40 to 49 make up the biggest cohort, with 131,930 registering.

IEC provincial spokesperson Sanda Nodada said the commission expected a higher number of people to vote compared to previous polls.

“We already have more than 200,000 applications for special votes.

“We are expecting a high number of voters in the upcoming elections, given the interventions and voter education that has been conducted...