Voting next year

[Erik]

http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/electoral-amendment-act-signed-by-president-zuma.htm

The President has signed the amendment bill, which now allows South Africans overseas to register to vote in next year’s elections. However, the regulations now need to be published and that process completed before the IEC can start overseas registration.

1. If you have voted before, you are registered (your name stays on the Voters’ Roll for life).

2. If you have not voted before, and cannot remember if you have ever registered yourself as a voter, you can check your status online with the IEC’s handy tool.

3. If you are not registered you will be able to register at the South African High Commission in London, or at any South African High Commission, Consulate or Embassy. Watch this space for further details.

For registration outside of South Africa, you must have the green bar-coded Identity Document as well as a valid passport.

You must register:

• in person
• with a green bar-coded ID (in South Africa) or the new smart ID card or a temporary ID book
• with a green bar-coded ID and valid passport (outside South Africa, and only once the new law comes into effect)
• in your voting district (unless abroad)
• after your 16th birthday (you can only vote after your 18th birthday)
• and get a Proof of Registration sticker in your green bar-coded ID book.

5. You must apply to register before 5pm on the day that the President proclaims the date of an election, or you won’t be able to vote in that election. When the President announces the date of the election South Africans living abroad will have 15 days to complete a VEC10 form online and submit to the IEC to notify them of your intention to vote abroad and indicate at which diplomatic mission, embassy or high commission you will vote. This form is not yet available, but will be made available closer to the time. You will then receive an email or text message to let you know if you qualify to vote abroad.

Voters will only be able to vote in the National Assembly ballot and not for candidates in the provincial legislatures.

Click here for further information on voting abroad or visit the IEC website.

[Hyperion]

So one can still only place your vote at Canberra and nowhere else?

[rikamarie]

Would love to vote, hopefully we'll be able to vote in Perth next year.

[Eva]

Mmmm, it will be interesting to see if the only place to vote is Canberra... I never realised that for people in New Zealand the only place they could vote was also Canberra! Completely ridiculous!