Voter registration will be held this coming weekend for 96 municipal ward by-elections scheduled for 11 November.

The by-elections will take place in 56 municipalities in all nine provinces across 461 voting districts affecting more than 600 000 registered voters, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on Wednesday.

This after by-elections were postponed in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Voting stations in affected wards will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 08:00 to 17:00 to allow all eligible voters to register and for current voters to check their registration details and to update address details where necessary.

Voters who are already registered have the further option to check their registration status online at if they have internet access or to SMS their ID number to 32810 at a cost of R1 per SMS.

Voters can also use these facilities to check if they are affected by the by-elections.

Voters must take their IDs with them - either a green bar-coded ID book, a smartcard ID or a valid temporary ID certificate. They will also need to complete their physical home address on registration or provide sufficient particularities of their place of residence.

Documented proof of address like a municipal account is not required.

"Voters are reminded that it is a criminal offence to register and vote in a ward in which they are not ordinarily resident," read the IEC's statement.

The by-elections will be held under strict Covid-19 protocols to ensure the safety of voters, election staff, party agents, observers and other stakeholders. These include implementing strict social distancing practices outside and inside voting stations along with the use of hand sanitisers as voters enter and exit the voting station.

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