on Election Day
3 April 2009
The Electoral Commission (IEC) received 19 265 notifications of registered
South Africans who would be out of the country on Election Day and want to vote
in the 2009 National and Provincial Elections. Of these 17 841 were approved
and 1 424 were rejected mainly due to the applicant not being a registered
voter or his/her notification was sent after the deadline.
Voters had to notify the Chief Electoral Officer of their intention to vote
and whether they want to apply and cast a special vote on 20 or 21 April 2009
in their voting district before they depart South Africa, or if they want to
vote at a specified South African foreign mission abroad on 15 April 2009.
This they had to do by completing a VEC 10 form, which was available on the
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) website and South African missions
abroad, and the completed form had to be delivered to the Chief Electoral
Officer not later than midnight on 27 March 2009. There is no extension of this
cut-off date. Voters who did not notify the Chief Electoral Officer by that
date will regrettably not be allowed to apply for and cast a special vote.
Once the VEC 10 form was received, IEC officials verified the registration
status of the applicant on the voters' roll and informed the relevant foreign
mission or voting station of the status of the applicant on the voters' roll.
Applicants had to be registered voters on the proclamation date for these
elections which was 12 February 2009. Persons who have notified the Chief
Electoral Officer can now check the status of their application on the IEC
website: http://www.elections.org.za
under check status.
Voting at South African missions abroad
It is important to note that out of the 17 841 approved applications, 16 240
voters intend to cast a vote on 15 April 2009 at the South African mission as
indicated on their form.
South Africans voting at missions abroad must in addition to their South
African green bar-coded identity document (ID) or valid temporary identity
certificate produce their passport when they vote. Without these documents
voting will not be permitted. At the mission, they will also be required to
complete an application form for a special vote called a VEC 1 form.
Voting stations at South African missions abroad will be open from 07h00
until 19h00.
The voting station with the highest number of voters is London (United
Kingdom) with 7 472 followed by Canberra (Australia) with 1 235, Dubai (United
Arab Emirates) with 900, Wellington (New Zealand) with 410, The Hague (The
Netherlands) with 378 and Dublin (Ireland) with 360. Voting stations with the
lowest number of voters are Asmara (Eritrea), Suva (Fiji), Ramallah
(Palestine), Bujumbura (Burundi) and Trinidad and Tobago (Port of Spain) with
only one voter each.
Voting in South Africa on 20 or 21 April prior to departure
Altogether 1 601 South Africans will vote at the office of the presiding
officer in their voting district on 20 or 21 April before they leave South
Africa.
A voter whose application has been approved must when voting in South Africa
produces his/her South African green bar-coded identity document or a valid
temporary identity certificate.
Voting times on 20 and 21 April in South Africa will be from 09h00 until
17h00.
For more information please visit the IEC website on http://www.elections.org.za
For media queries please contact:
Kate Bapela
Cell: 082 600 6386
Issued by: Independent Electoral Commission
3 April 2009
