The Department of Home Affairs and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) are facing a major challenge ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Over 410 000 Smart ID Cards remain uncollected at Home Affairs offices across the country.

The revelation emerged during the launch of the ID Collection campaign in Polokwane, Limpopo on Thursday morning.

A special call has been extended to people who are eligible to vote to collect their ID’s.

Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba says, “The difficulty about these smart ID cards is that the department can’t distribute them to people as applicants must visit their office for it to be registered and activated and linked with their biometric information.”

The IEC has warned against forfeiting the right to vote for those without their ID’s.

IEC Chairperson Glen Mashinini says,”People will not be able to vote during the election next year if they don’t have their IDs, urging them to come and collect and make sure they’re barcoded.”

Limpopo alone has over 40 000 uncollected Smart ID cards and just over 1000 green book ID’s.