- The Department of Home Affairs has announced that it will be open from 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturday 4th, 11th and 18th as well as Sunday 19th November.
- This is to give South Africans additional time to collect their smart ID cards and passports.
- The IEC will begin its voter registration drive on 18th and 19th November.
From 18th – 19th November, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will commence its drive to get South Africans registered for the 2024 National and Provincial elections.
The Electoral Commission plans to open 23 296 – or thereabout – voting stations over the weekend between 08:00 and 17:00 to draw in voter registrations from new voters and to verify that existing voters are on the roll.
The only thing a South African citizen needs in order to register to vote is a valid South African ID or passport. In order to assist the IEC and citizens, the Department of Home Affairs will extend its office hours on the weekends preceding this voter registration driver.
On Saturday 4th November and again on 11th November, Home Affairs offices will be open from 08:00 until 13:00 to allow citizens more hours to collect their smart ID card or passport.
“ID services will also be available at all Home Affairs offices during the Voter Registration Weekend of 18th and 19th November 2023. In this regard, operating hours at Home Affairs offices will be aligned with those of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in order to assist voters who need to collect IDs they have applied for or to apply for Temporary Identification Certificates. With these documents, eligible voters will be able to register for the 2024 national and provincial elections. Temporary Identification Certificates are issued on the spot,” the Department of Home Affairs said in a statement.
In order to streamline the collection process, the department urges those collecting documents to make use of the Branch Appointment Booking System.
We have tried to make an appointment using this system to no avail. Your mileage may vary of course but you may just have to arrive at Home Affairs when your documents are ready and stand in a queue.
We urge our readers to register to vote for the 2024 elections which may take place between May and the middle of August 2024 according to an IEC statement issued last month.
