“This is an opportunity for our people to exercise their hard-won right to determine the direction of this country,” the president said in a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on Thursday night.
Ramaphosa said he has met the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) over the issue, and the IEC told him its preparations for parliamentary and presidential polls are underway.
The total number of registered voters on the voters’ roll currently stands at 26,727,921 following the last voter registration weekend in January.
Out of this figure, there are 703,794 new voters, and over 81% (574 899) are under 30 years old.
“This means that the youth heeded the call to register and take a stand in the democratic processes,” Ramaphosa said.