Pretoria — Home Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has commended the thousands of South Africans who approached the department's offices to ensure they were in possession of IDs to allow them to register as voters.

Over the weekend, the department's officials assisted 31 118 South Africans in all nine provinces.

The department has a constitutional mandate to assist the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) deliver free, fair and credible forthcoming Local Government Elections.

"Of those assisted, 20 516 South Africans collected their ID documents from various Home Affairs offices around the country, officials also handed out 1 042 Temporary Identity Certificates, which were accepted by the IEC to enable holders to register to vote. In addition, 9 060 new ID applications were received for processing by officials," Dlamini Zuma said.

The minister reiterated the call for those who have not yet collected their IDs to do so as soon as possible.

"The department stands ready to further assist South Africans acquire enabling documents to allow them to vote in the run up to the elections on a date still to be announced."