An estimated 306 000 of about 9,5-million unregistered potential voters took the time on Saturday to have their names listed on the national voters' roll, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) reported yesterday.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, we would have preferred higher figures," deputy chief electoral officer Norman du Plessis told reporters in Pretoria.

He said the IEC had put in place all the systems and staff required for the weekend registration drive. Nearly 17 000 voting stations were open from 8am to 5pm on Saturday and yesterday.

"The table has been laid, but somebody has to come sit down and eat the meal".

Chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula said the commission was not disappointed with the turn-out.

"But it means we have to intensify our campaign".

She laid the blame at the door of an apathetic South African culture.

"I guess people are hoping there will be another opportunity.

The same happened with the issuing of (credit-card format) drivers' licenses - people waited until the last moment".

She would not say whether voting stations would be opened again at a later stage for another registration drive.

"We still have to assess all the information. We will see what we have at the end of the day and then make a call".

South Africans could, in the meantime, register as voters at their municipal election office on any weekday.

Tlakula said only about 16% of data captured at voting stations had been uploaded by the IEC by yesterday morning.

That data indicated that a total of 52,185 people had registered on Saturday.

But, based on registration trends, the total country-wide figure was estimated at 306 000.

A total of 17,9-million voters were on the roll prior to the registration weekend - out of an estimated group of 27,4- million eligible voters.

This represented a 65,5% registration level.

In 1998, about 10-million people registered to vote over a two-day period.

From Saturday's provisional figures, it emerged that 61,3% of new registrations were done by people between the ages of 18 and 25.

The 26 to 49 age group represented 26,9%, and those 50 and older 11,8%.

More women than men had registered, Tlakula said.

"Maybe it is because women take their civic responsibilities more seriously then men," she quipped.

The registration drive was aimed at first-time voters as well as those who registered before but moved house and needed to change their addresses on the roll.

It was also aimed at people who now fell into a new voting district because of a recent re-demarcation process undertaken by the IEC.

One has to register and vote in the area where one normally resides.

The body also has a call centre which has a similar facility that is available 24-hours a day.

Tlakula said the call centre was receiving about 25 000 calls a day.

"But those calls are not translating into reality." The website, too, was constantly clogged, with about 96 000 hits on Thursday alone".

Asked whether problems with applications for identity documents may have contributed to Saturday's low registration turn-out, Home Affairs Director-General Barry Gilder said his department had exceeded its target in this regard.

It has issued about 2,1-million IDs out of 2,5-million applications since February.

More than 1000 Home Affairs offices were open country-wide this weekend.

The department has also waived the costs of applying for an identity document or temporary identity certificate (TIC).

TICs would be issued this weekend to all those who have applied for the re-issuing of an ID or have lost an ID.

Those who have applied for an ID in the past two months and have not yet received theirs would also be eligible.

About two weeks ago, Gilder said, some 300 000 IDs remained uncollected at Home Affairs offices. But efforts were underway to find their rightful owners, and the figure was fast going down.

Problems encountered on Saturday had all been sorted out, Tlakula said.

This included protests by landless groupings at some voting stations, and by people angry with the IEC for not recruiting more unemployed members of their communities onto its election staff.

Tlakula urged all South Africans to make sure their details were captured on the voters' roll and called on political parties to encourage their supporters to do so. – Sapa.