Nelson Mandela Bay voters urged to check registration details amid ward, voting station confusion

Voters set to cast their ballots on 4 November have been urged to verify their registration details after complaints in Nelson Mandela Bay that some have been allocated to incorrect voting stations, while others cannot find their registration details online.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and ward councillors have advised residents to check their registration status online or visit their nearest IEC office, following a surge in queries after the recent registration weekend.

Ward councillors in Gqeberha said that some residents had reported that their registrations did not reflect online, that they had been allocated to incorrect voting stations and people living at the same address were assigned to different voting stations.

Meanwhile, others were unaware of changes in ward demarcations, which shifted the boundaries of certain wards, effectively relocating people from one ward to a neighbouring one and changing their voting station.

IEC spokesperson Sando Mbo said as far as he knew, the IEC systems had been updated. He reiterated IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo’s statement on Monday that there had been problems with online registrations due to the poor quality of uploaded identity documents.

This issue led to the delay of about 30,000 online registration applications, Mamabolo said. He said IEC officials would directly contact voters who had uploaded substandard images to resolve the issue.

Mamabolo said anyone with registration issues could visit IEC offices for assistance, noting that registration remained an ongoing process.

He said residents in wards affected by changes implemented by the Municipal Demarcation Board might be particularly affected.

Amended ward boundaries

Ward 5 councillor Terri Stander said the amended ward boundaries had been gazetted in 2025, which saw her ward absorb sections of the neighbouring Ward 2, while Ward 15 took over some parts previously within her area.

She said one of her ward’s voting stations, the Westbourne Oval athletics track, where she happens to be registered, was replaced by the PE TVET College in Russell Road, across the street. However, the college actually falls within the new Ward 15 boundaries.

“Approximately three months ago, IEC systems reflected [that] everyone registered at Westbourne Oval was ‘transferred’ and registered to vote at PE TVET College. I am one such voter.

Reregistrations urged

“On Saturday, people who had been transferred from Westbourne to TVET came to check their registration at the voting station. They did not appear on the IEC system. I spoke to an IEC official in the TVET station, questioning this as the IEC information just days before reflected the changes.

“The official confirmed that although people had been transferred from Westbourne to TVET, and appeared on the system as registered at TVET, everyone had to reregister.”

She sent out urgent messages on community chat groups for everyone previously registered at the Westbourne Oval to re-register at the station or online. She was subsequently inundated with messages from confused residents with the same complaint – they had already checked and updated their registration just days before, but now had to redo the process.

“The information the IEC originally communicated was not correct, and I believe voters may have been disadvantaged. I have little confidence that the IEC registration process is reliable since the changes to the ward boundaries. Who’s to say this is not happening in other wards as well?” Stander said.

Ward 8 councillor Brendon Pegram also urged residents to double-check their registrations.

“We had cases in the past where voters who were voting at Newton Technical High School for years suddenly found out that they were registered somewhere in the Northern Areas (7km away).

“Those people did drive through to go vote, but they were very shocked. They had no connection to anything in the Northern Areas,” he said.

Pegram stressed that the IEC’s voting districts could also be confusing.

“If you take Mill Park, for example, residents living there vote in Ward 3, 5 and 7,” he said.

He said voters were also welcome to visit their ward councillor to ask for help.

Ward 2 councillor Sean Tappan said instances where people living at the same address were registered to vote at other locations were incorrect, and urged them to consult the IEC to ensure their registrations were rectified

While online registration is available 24/7, the IEC said another registration weekend was scheduled for August, and urged all voters to use the opportunity to ensure their information was correct. DM