Homes affairs extends operating hours to assist voters
The Department of Home Affairs will be operating on election day to assist those who require documentation in order to cast their vote.
Priority services will include the collection of IDs, applications for temporary documents and issuing letters of confirmation of identity.
All offices across the country will be open from 7am to 9pm on 7 May and services related to identity documents will be prioritised during this period.
Home affairs offices had also extended their operating hours to 7.30pm on 5 and 6 May.
The department was working closely with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to issue as many ID documents as possible, enabling more South Africans to vote this week.
An ID or temporary ID certificate must be produced in order to vote on 7 May.
Despite these efforts, Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Manny de Freitas slammed home affairs. “I find it suspicious that on the eve of an election, many people are being disenfranchised of their vote because they will have no form of identification for casting their ballot,” he said.
He said he had been inundated with queries from people who have applied for IDs, but did not receive a temporary ID.
According to de Freitas, temporary IDs are normally issued to applicants, ensuring that they have a form of identity while waiting for their ID.
“A number of these people have made enquiries with the Department of Home Affairs; the standard reply is that either their ‘system is down’, the application is ‘still being processed’ and that ‘temporary IDs are no longer issued’.”
He encouraged people to go to home affairs offices and demand a temporary ID in order to vote.
