The Municipal Electoral Amendment Bill will go a long way towards ensuring a smooth local government election in 2011, Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Thursday.

Introducing debate on the measure in the National Assembly, she said that government believed strongly in the right of all citizens, including those who might be physically challenged, to use their vote to choose the leaders they wanted to have, govern the country.

"Therefore, when the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) identified certain aspects of the Local Government Municipal Electoral Act, which needed to be amended to cater for the needs of all citizens, we felt this needed to be addressed before the 2011 local government elections," she said.

The proposed amendments contained in the bill resulted from consultations convened by the IEC with various stakeholders, more particularly the political parties.

The bill provided, among other things, for presiding officers at a polling station to be given powers to re-demarcate the boundary of a voting station to ensure proper control and security at that voting station.

Presiding officers would be empowered to assist voters with physical challenges, including those who were blind or unable to hear.

Special votes would be allowed to those unable, on voting day, to cast their votes at the voting station or district at which he or she was registered.

Dlamini-Zuma said that the amendments would facilitate the efficient preparation for and management of the 2011 local government elections.

The bill was supported by all sides of the House and now goes to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.