South Africa: Home Affairs Extends Hours Ahead of Voter Registration Weekend

9 November 2023
SAnews.gov.za (Tshwane)

To ensure that citizens are able to collect their IDs and passports ahead of the upcoming Voter Registration Weekend, Home Affairs offices will open this coming Saturday, 11 November 2023.

"The service to be rendered on 11 November 2023 is exclusively the collection of smart ID cards and passports," said the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on Thursday.

Home Affairs offices will be open from 8am until 1 pm. This as the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)'s Voter Registration Weekend will be held from 18-19 November 2023.

To register to vote, you need a South African identity document - either a green barcoded ID book, an ID smartcard, or a valid temporary ID certificate.

According to the commission, all South African citizens aged 16 years or older can register to vote, but to vote you need to be 18 years or older.

In addition, to ease pressure on its clients, Home Affairs has introduced dedicated counters for collections in large offices that process Smart ID Cards and passports, where space allows. This will help in reducing queues.

Clients can now book collection appointments before visiting the offices, using the Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS) which is available on the DHA website - www.dha.gov.za through this link: https://services.dha.gov.za/#/authenticate/identity.

The department also allows clients who may not have an opportunity to book appointments to visit as walk-ins and will be assisted to collect their IDs and passports.

ID services will also be available at all Home Affairs offices during the Voter Registration Weekend of 18 and 19 November 2023.

In this regard, operating hours at Home Affairs offices will be aligned with those of the IEC in order to assist voters who need to collect the 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.

"We would like to urge all our clients who have applied for their identification documents and have been waiting for three weeks or more, to seize this opportunity by visiting their Home Affairs office to collect these critical documents at their convenience on Saturday 11 November 2023 or on the weekend of 18-19 November 2023," said the department.

Read the original article on SAnews.gov.za.

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