This past Saturday and Sunday saw the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) call on all citizens to head out and register at their nearest voting station.

Although many have gone out to the 22600 stations around South Africa to update their details or to register as a new voter, there still seems to be some apathy about the importance of such weekends.

As a democratic country, we have been afforded the opportunity to vote - yet many people do not do so.

This is your opportunity to ensure your voice is heard when it counts.

Next year, national and provincial government elections will take place, and if your details are missing or incorrect you will not be allowed to vote.

In turn, you will not have your say about who or what party is chosen to lead.

So if you have failed to heed this call, you have no one but yourself to blame when things do not go as you imagined they would.

You cannot accuse others if you yourself have failed to take this opportunity to ensure democracy continues.

If we don't put our X where it counts, we should not complain about service delivery, the lack of land and the failure of important departments.

It is easy to say the health department has failed; it is easy to say corruption is at the heart of the country's economic woes; it is easy to say there is high unemployment in the country.

But it is your X that makes the difference; it is your X that will choose a party and its leader to guide South Africa to the potential we all know it has. By making a tiny mark, you are ensuring that you have chosen a future for yourself and future generations.

The weekend itself, despite protests at some stations or the early closure of others due to unforseen factors, appears to have been a successful endeavour.

It was also an opportunity for the IEC to fulfil, and possibly reach its goal - compliance with a Constitutional Court ruling to update the addresses of everyone on the voters' roll.

And when this opportunity comes around again, make sure you head to your nearest voting station to ensure you are part of the collective that decides the future of all South Africans.