From: 	Alana Bailey <alana@afriforum.co.za>
To:	"emathonsi@parliament.gov.za" <emathonsi@parliament.gov.za>
Date: 	2013/09/03 11:46 AM
Subject: 	COMMENTS ON THE ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [B22-2013]

Dear Mr Mathonsi

COMMENTS ON THE ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [B22‑2013]

Herewith please accept the comments of AfriForum regarding the Electoral Amendment Bill [B22‑2013]

In 2009, AfriForum was an amicus curiae in the so‑called "Richter case" in the Constitutional Court.  The reason for this involvement was that since 2003, we have been involved in assisting South African citizens residing abroad to return to South Africa permanently, or to maintain ties with South Africa, as such citizens are an invaluable asset for their country of origin, bringing skills with them to South Africa, or acting as unofficial "ambassadors" for the country wherever they are.  We are also aware of the assets they retain in South Africa, such as property and investments, and the amount of money they still contribute regularly to the local economy, either by shopping for South Africa‑specific products locally, of by supporting relatives, friends and causes in South Africa.  With this amount of involvement in the country, their birth‑right as citizens also to participate in local democratic processes, such as national elections, is well‑served by the ruling of the Constitutional Court.

AfriForum has taken note of the proposed amendment to the Electoral Act.  We specifically welcome the amendments proposed to accommodate South African citizens residing abroad.

After the election of 2009, we received numerous complaints from South Africans who could not vote due to the fact that they could not register in time to participate.  The provision now suggested for the creation of an international section of the voter's roll and for registering abroad is therefore welcomed.  We realise that the registration of voters outside the borders of the country will entail substantial expenses, but the constitutional rights of such citizens have to be served and cannot be denied on financial grounds.

We agree that the right of such voters only to participate in the election for the National Assembly is fair, as in many cases it will be impossible to determine the province where such a person will have the right to vote.  Some South Africans living abroad have properties in several provinces, others have none ‑ so to determine a province where they should be allowed to cast a vote will be complicated.  By participating on a national level, their constitutional rights are still being maintained and they can still be part of the electoral process, but in a manageable way.

After the election of 2009, we also received complaints about the long distances voters had to travel in, for example, the USA, Canada and Australia, due to a lack of polling stations.  The practice benchmarked by other countries allowing voting abroad, namely that votes should be cast on home territory only, including missions and embassies, makes sense though.  We view the South African electoral process as a work in progress and we hope that in future more secure alternatives will be available to allow voters residing far from South African missions and embassies to participate without the inconvenience and costs of travelling long distances to vote.  Electronic voting will probably play a huge role in this regard in future.  We therefore encourage the IEC to keep on exploring such possibilities, but we agree that at this stage voting at South African missions and embassies is the best available option.  Voters have a right to vote, but also a duty to do so, and we hope that the majority of South African citizens residing abroad will take this into account and find a way to travel to a mission or embassy in order to participate.

From AfriForum's side we are looking forward to the proposed amendments being accepted and we undertake to bring all information in this regard to the attention of South Africans residing abroad with whom we have contact.

We thank you for the opportunity to submit our comments to you.

Sincerely

Alana Bailey (Ms)
Deputy CEO ‑ International Liaison
AfriForum
Tel: 086‑10‑200‑30
Fax: 012‑6641281
alana@afriforum.co.za
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