LAST-MINUTE voter registration has left people disappointed as the Independent Electorate Commission (IEC) website crashed on Friday, 23 February.
It seemed the portal couldn't handle the influx of people registering or changing addresses at the 11th hour before the online cut-off time at midnight.
The IEC had given Mzansi voters until midnight to register to vote and/or change their addresses, if they have moved to a new place, province or anything of that sort.
“You can update your voter's roll address for #SAelections24 until midnight tonight, 23 Feb. If your address changes thereafter or you travel on election day, you can still apply for a Section 24a vote as per the Election Timetable,” the commission encouraged voters.
However, things didn't work out as planned when the website started crashing during the day.
Frustrated users took to X (formerly Twitter) to vent their anger about their experiences.
@ukho_inkosazane wrote: “The website isn't allowing me to change my address, I've been trying for days @IECSouthAfrica. Please help?”
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Another user said she was registered and wanted to help her children register, but the online registration portal was not working.
@Beckylieb wrote: “I'm registered, but the online registration channels have not been working. My adult children have not been able to get registered.”
But the IEC kept telling the voters not to give up and send an email or call for assistance.
This reporter went to the website to see what people were experiencing.
The website kept returning results that said, “Sorry! We are unable to load the page you requested. Please, check your network connection and try again.”
Later at night, the commission admitted that its website couldn't handle the number of people registering or changing addresses.
“Our Voter Registration Portal is experiencing heavy traffic due to the close of registration at midnight tonight, 23 February. Please, be patient and keep trying to register for #SAelections24 at online.elections.org.za,” it said.
By law, no new registrations or re-registrations (address updates) will be possible for the 2024 elections after Friday.
