Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs is proud to have contributed to the successful holding of the 2014 general elections by making it possible for the citizens to apply for Temporary Identification Certificates and collect their Smart ID cards and green bar-coded IDs to enable them to vote.

During the voter registration weekends of 09-10 November 2013 and 8-9 February 2014 as well as the elections of May 2014, the department has issued a total of:

• 47 809 Green bar-coded IDs
• 14 277 Temporary Identity Certificates, and
• 6 397 Smart ID cards.

Over 105 000 ID applications were received.

All home affairs offices were opened across the country with hours extended for the special voting on Monday-Tuesday 5-6 May 2014 from 07H30-19H30 and for the general elections on Wednesday 7 May 2014 from 07H00-21H00 in line with voting hours declared by the IEC.

A total of 3074 home affairs officials were on duty on elections day with 2860 in the provinces and 214 at Head Office, Pretoria. About 69 mobile offices were also deployed to reach out to communities where the department does not have a footprint.

We extend our gratitude to all home affairs officials who walked an extra mile by ensuring that offices are opened beyond normal working hours in service of the people.

For more information: Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853 / David Hlabane on 071 527 9463.

Issued by Department of Home Affairs

8 May 2014