ALZANE NARRAIN
Current identity documents as well as the new smart card ID will be accepted when people register for next year’s general election.
The Independent Electoral Commission head in the Free State, Chris Mepha, says smart cards have already been tested by members of the IEC and the process has been successful.
Mepha says first time voters and the elderly will be able to use their smart cards during the registration process because they are the first to have the new smart card.
Mepha explains it is unlikely for everyone to have smartcards by next year because South Africa has over 50 million citizens.
He estimates the smart card process will take between three to five years to be complete and therefore people who have not yet acquired the new smart card ID will be allowed to register with their green barcode identity documents.
