“We would like to urge all of our customers who have applied for their identification documents and have been waiting for three weeks or more to take advantage of this opportunity and visit their Home Office to collect these important documents at their convenience,” the ministry said in a statement.
This action, he explained, could be carried out both on Saturday, November 11th, and on the weekend of the 18th to 19th of the same month.
According to the National Electoral Commission (IEC), all South African citizens over the age of 16 can register to vote. However, to exercise the right to vote, you must be at least 18 years old.
To ease the pressure on its customers, the Home Office has now introduced special document collection counters in large offices to process smart ID cards and passports.
The ministry also allows customers who do not have the opportunity to book appointments to visit and assists them in collecting their IDs and passports.
In this regard, the opening hours of the Ministry of Interior will be aligned with those of the IEC to help voters collect the ID cards they request or request temporary identification certificates.
Ahead of national and provincial elections scheduled for 2024, the Ministry of Interior and South Africa’s main political parties are working to ensure that as many voters as possible turn out to vote.
In this regard, IEC Deputy Elections Director Mawethu Moser stressed last October that citizens’ concrete actions must, for now, focus on ensuring that they are included in the electoral roll.
Figures from the recently completed census suggest that more than 40 million South Africans should be on the electoral roll.
We have a huge gap to fill, he stressed, because we currently only have about 26 million. Therefore, there are a large number of South Africans who are not on the electoral roll and whom we must encourage to make their vote count.
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