Expats: You have 15 days to apply for special vote!

Confirm registration status, fill out VEC10 form, send to the IEC before March 27, vote on April 15th.

The Constitutional Court granted a new 15 day period for South Africans abroad to apply for a special vote overseas.

This 15 day period has begun and all South Africans who are registered to vote and who want to apply for a special vote must get their applications submitted to the IEC before 27 March 2009.

Every South African who is living abroad and who is registered to vote MUST APPLY for a SPECIAL VOTE so that you can have your say in the upcoming elections.

>>>The special voting day abroad will take place on 15 April<<<.

How to apply for a Special Vote

1) You have to be a registered voter
To apply for a special vote in the upcoming 2009 National and Provincial Elections, you have to be a registered voter. Click here to check if you are registered.

If you have registered before (either in 1999, 2006 or on the registration weekends in November 2008 or February 2009) you are a registered voter.

2) If you are abroad
You will be able to vote at the South African foreign mission closest to you. You can find out which foreign mission is closest to you by clicking on the link on the homepage of the C2C blog.

>>> Voting at foreign mission will take place on 15 April <<<

To apply you must:
a) Notify the Chief Electoral Officer of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) that you want to cast a special vote at a foreign mission by completing a VEC10 form which you must send to the IEC either by post or by fax.

• Postal Address:
P O Box 7943, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

• Fax number
+27 12 428 5566 or +27 12 428 5279

This must be done within 15 days before 27 March 2009.

****!! UPDATE: It seems the fax number at the IEC is rather 'busy' so your application may not get through, however if you email your form to the Democratic Alliance at: global@da.org.za, they WILL ensure that it is faxed or hand-delivered to the IEC - even if you do not intend voting for the DA. Or you could phone the IEC at +27 12 428 5700 and ask for the special votes section.

You may not change the place where you indicated you want to vote after these 15 days have expired so make sure your foreign mission is correct.

The Chief Electoral Officer will check whether you are a registered voter and will then inform the foreign mission where you intend to vote that you have successfully applied for a special vote.

If your application is successful you must:
b) On the 15 April you must go to your foreign mission during office hours with you green bar-coded identity document and your passport;
c) At the mission you will fill in a VEC1 form and produce your passport to the voting officer;
d) The voting officer will check that your application to the IEC for a special vote was successful;
e) If the voting officer is happy with your application you must then produce your green bar-coded identity document;
f) You will then be able to cast your vote.

>>>Voting, Registering and Embassies<<
Click here to see if you are registered to vote in the 22 April 2009 General Election. All you need is your South African ID number.

Click here or here for list containing the contact details of South African Embassies.

For more information, visit the IEC’s page on Special Voting.