Constitutional Court decision to extend voting rights to registered SA citizens abroad a victory for democracy
The Constitutional Court's decision to extend voting rights to all registered South African citizens living abroad represents a great day for our democracy. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is particularly delighted to note that most of what we sought to achieve by taking this case to the Constitutional Court has come to fruition.
These achievements include the court's decision to allow registered South African voters living abroad to vote on the national ballot, as well as the extension of the period afforded overseas voters to apply for a special vote, from the 12th of March until the 27th of March.
As a result of this decision the DA will now be approaching directly the thousands of citizens who have contacted us regarding this issue, and actively encourage them to participate in the upcoming General Election. South Africa's democracy will be strengthened by this decision, and the DA will, for its part, do everything possible to ensure that as many South Africans living abroad as possible take up the opportunity now afforded them.
Given the fact that we have been approached by in excess of 20 000 people living abroad regarding their right to vote, we are confident that South African citizens living overseas will come out in their numbers to help strengthen and protect South Africa's democracy.
We encourage anyone interested to visit www.contributeglobal.com to access information and support which the DA is making available to overseas voters.
We will also ensure that when the next Parliament is convened we revisit this issue as a matter of urgency. Although many thousands of South African citizens living abroad are now entitled to vote, many cannot because they may only vote at designated embassies and consulates abroad. This means for example that if a South African is living in New Orleans, that person would have to travel to a major urban centre such as Washington DC or New York in order to exercise his or her right to vote.
We need to devise a simpler, more user-friendly system to give full effect to the implications of the Constitutional Court's judgment. In doing this we will propose legislative amendments and may consider returning to court if the situation is not adequately addressed.
Statement issued by James Selfe MP, Democratic Alliance federal executive chairperson, March 12 2009
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