The Electoral Commission of South Africa has declared that voter registration for South African citizens living abroad will take place at all South African foreign missions from 1 to 4 February 2019.
Registration will take place during office hours at South Africa’s 120 foreign missions, including high commissions, embassies and consulates worldwide. A full list of South Africa’s missions is available on the website of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) at http://www.dirco.gov.za/webmissions/index.html.
Whilst the exact date of the election is not yet known, it is expected to take place between 7 and 31 May 2019.
How are you going about to make your vote count?
What do you need to qualify?
To vote whilst living abroad you will need to:
- Be registered at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC);
- Be in possession of a valid South African identity document;
- Be in possession of a valid South African passport; and
- Submit a VEC 10 application form at the IEC.
Many South Africans abroad who are in fact registered voters, however, missed the chance to make their voice heard in the previous national election. The reason for this was because only a small percentage of them knew that they needed to notify the IEC of their intention to vote. That is the reason for the VEC 10 form. This form needs to be submitted within 15 days of the announcement of the election date and will be available at www.elections.org.za.
The next national election must be held before 4 August 2019, but can take place as early as the start of 2019. As soon as Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa announces the date, VEC 10 documents will be available at www.elections.org.za. As soon as you submitted your VEC 10 document, you can look out for the result of your application here: http://www.elections.org.za/content/For-Voters/VEC-10-application-status/ or you can SMS your ID number to 32249.
How do you know if you are registered?
If you live abroad, but was registered for the previous election, you should still be registered. If you are unsure, follow this link to see if you are registered to vote: https://www.elections.org.za/content/For-voters/My-voter-registration-details/.
If you are not registered, you can simply apply to vote at your nearest South African embassy, high commissioner or consulate general. Look here for a list of embassies and consulates where you can make an appointment: www.dfa.gov.za. Remember to take your identity document, passport and application form to your appointment.
Application for a special voting opportunity
However, what must you do when you still live in South Africa, but will be abroad only during the election date? You have the option to vote in the country where you will be over that specific period, which is usually about a week before the election date in South Africa, or you can apply for a “special vote”. You may apply for a special voting opportunity at your local IEC office which will subsequently allow you to vote a day or two prior to the national election date.
Make sure of your citizenship
When emigrating, you can apply for double citizenship if you choose to retain your South African citizenship. It is important to remember that you will need to indicate at an embassy that you wish to retain your South African citizenship before your new citizenship is registered. If you never officially emigrated, but simply live outside South African borders, your citizenship may be cancelled after three years. It is however possible to reapply for your citizenship if it was cancelled. Only South Africans who are still officially citizens of South Africa will be allowed to register to vote.
Where do you vote?
On the specified election day, you will be able to vote with your ID and passport (both documents are necessary and must still be valid) at your nearest embassy, high commission or consulate general. The IEC promised to make available additional voting stations in places like Sydney and Perth, seeing as some voters previously had to drive hundreds of kilometres to get to a voting station.
Stay updated
Make sure you know when the election date will be announced by following the IEC on social media:
www.twitter.com/iecsouthafrica
www.facebook.com/iecsouthafrica
Download the IEC’s application to:
- Change your address;
- Verify registration details;
- Apply for a “special vote”; and
- Find your nearest voting station.
The IEC application can be downloaded here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.org.elections.iecapp&hl=en_US.
