**Exhibit 31.1**

**Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**

| I, Kim S.   Price, certify that:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
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| 1.        I   have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Citizens South Banking   Corporation;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
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| 2.           Based on my knowledge, this   report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to   state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the   circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with   respect to the period covered by this report;                                    |
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| 3.           Based on my knowledge, the   financial statements, and other financial information included in this   report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition,   results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the   periods presented in this report;                                                       |
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| 4.           The registrant’s other   certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining   disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules   13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in   Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f)) for the registrant and   have: |
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|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | (a)           Designed such disclosure   controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to   be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information   relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made   known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period   in which this report is being prepared; |
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|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | (b)        Designed such internal control over   financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting   to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding   the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial   statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted   accounting principles; |
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|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | (c)        Evaluated   the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and   presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the   disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by   this report based on such evaluation; and |
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|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | (d)        Disclosed   in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial   reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter   that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect,   the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
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| 5.           The registrant’s other   certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation   of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors   and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons   performing the equivalent functions):                                |
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|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | (a)        All   significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation   of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to   adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and   report financial information; and |
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|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | (b)        Any   fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees   who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial   reporting. |