The Electoral Commission of South Africa welcomed Thursday's ruling by the Constitutional Court granting an extension to November 2019 for the commission to update the voters’ roll with addresses for all voters.

"The ruling provides certainty on the status of the voters’ roll and especially those voters without addresses ahead of next year’s national and provincial elections.

"Today’s judgment will greatly assist the Electoral Commission in ensuring the elections are free and fair‚” the commission said in a statement.

The reaction follows a judgment by the Constitutional Court on Thursday ordering the commission to continue its constitutional duty of collecting addresses for the voters’ roll until November 2019. The court also ordered the commission to file two-monthly progress reports.

"The Electoral Commission remains committed to meeting the conditions set by the Constitutional Court including that voters without addresses provide their address prior to voting‚ as well as periodical reporting."

The commission said it hoped the court's ruling would provide additional impetus and encouragement to all voters to update their address details during the January 26-27 final registration weekend.