Explainer: How to vote in the 2024 elections as a South African living abroad

Voting as a South African living abroad is less complicated than you may think — for the first time you can register to vote online. Here’s how you can make your voice heard in the 2024 general elections.

Explainer: How to vote in the 2024 elections as a South African living abroad

“Where you are physically or geographically doesn’t negate you of the civic duty that you have to your country and to the people in your country — specifically the ones who may not have the ability to speak for themselves,” says political expert, and CEO and founder of the Ground Work Collective, Mbali Ntuli.

“Whether you’re here or abroad you remain a South African and you remain somebody who has invested in seeing the success of your country. It’s not just… a civic duty, it’s the cornerstone of what makes a vibrant democracy,” she told Daily Maverick.

The 2024 national and political elections are expected to take place at any point between May and August, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is calling on South Africans at home and overseas to register to vote.

Read in Daily Maverick: Elections 2024 Knowledge Base

The IEC recorded 29,468 registered voters who were eligible to cast their vote internationally in the 2019 elections. Of this, 19,909 votes were eventually cast at diplomatic missions abroad — representing a voting abroad turnout of 68%.

In-country, 17,652,942 South Africans went to the polls — representing a domestic voter turnout of 65%.

According to the Electoral Commission’s 2019 National and Provincial Elections Report, the highest number of votes cast abroad was in London, United Kingdom (5,920 votes); Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) (1,096 votes); The Hague, Netherlands (949 votes); Abu Dhabi, UAE (842 votes) and Dublin, Ireland (581 votes).

The IEC did not have figures on the current number of South Africans abroad who are eligible to vote in 2024.

“I think that [South African citizens abroad] should vote for the people in South Africa that can’t vote for themselves,” said Ntuli.

“Democracy is a group project — just because you live outside of the country doesn’t mean that you’ve forgotten that there are people in the country that still need to be represented. A good case in point, for example, is children. Children are as much citizens in a country as anybody else — and yet they don’t have the ability to vote. Even if you live abroad I’m pretty sure you don’t want the children of South Africa to still function in a place where they are drowning in pit latrines or having sub-par education.”

Ntuli said South Africans abroad should be “just as invested in this election, especially because the IEC has made it easier for them to register” because they may want to return home one day to the country that is “thriving and… actually working”.

Read in Daily Maverick: Voter registration weekend — eight good reasons to register to vote

There have been a few changes in how to register to vote for South Africans abroad, which make it more accessible than in previous years. Here’s how to do it.

Am I eligible to vote abroad?

South African citizens who live abroad, or will be abroad on election day in South Africa, and who have a South African identity document (either a green ID book, a smartcard ID or a valid temporary ID certificate) and a valid South African passport or a valid temporary passport, are eligible to vote abroad.

You also need to be a registered voter, and be at least 18 years and older.

How do I register to vote abroad?

South Africans living abroad can register to vote online, for the first time, here.

This online voter registration portal is available for first-time voters to register, and for those who are already registered to update their registration details. First-time voters who are not on South Africa’s voters’ roll must register to vote. If you are already registered as a voter in South Africa, but your voting station is different to the one you intend to vote at in 2024, you must re-register.

Online registration is possible until the elections are proclaimed. The proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa closes the voters’ roll, meaning you cannot register after this date. Read Marianne Merten’s elections explainer here.

To register to vote abroad online, you will need a South African identity document (either a green ID book, a smartcard ID or a valid temporary ID certificate) and a valid South African passport or a valid temporary passport.

Can I register to vote at my local embassy or consulate?

Yes. On 26, 27 and 28 January, you can visit any of South Africa’s 120 embassies, high commissions and consulates to register to vote and/or update your details.

Here’s a list of South Africa’s foreign missions, including high commissions, embassies and consulates, worldwide.

To register in person at your nearest South African foreign mission, you will need a South African identity document (either a green ID book, a smartcard ID or a valid temporary ID certificate) and a valid South African passport or valid temporary passport.

The IEC has called on all South Africans abroad to register to vote in the 2024 general election.

How can I be sure that I am registered to vote?

If you have any doubts that you are registered to vote, you can check your voter registration status on the IEC’s website here. This also allows you to find out where you’re registered.

Additionally, to confirm that you’re registered and to find out where you’re registered, you can:

• SMS your ID number to 32810; or
• Call the IEC’s contact centre on 0800 11 800; or
• Email [email protected].

What are the implications of the Electoral Amendment Act for voters abroad?

There’s been a slight change regarding who is required to inform the IEC of their intention to vote outside of the country (VEC 10), with the new Electoral Amendment Act, Act 1 of 2023.

With the new Electoral Amendment Act, voters abroad are no longer required to notify the Electoral Commission about their voting intentions, unless they intend to vote at a different foreign mission or in a different country than where they are currently registered. In this case, they will be required to notify the IEC, just as South Africans voting in the country are required to do when voting outside of their usual voting district.

Voters who reside in South Africa but will be abroad on election day, or those who are abroad but intend to vote in a different country or at a different mission than where they are registered, can submit a VEC 10 notification to inform the IEC of the foreign mission at which they intend to vote.

The VEC 10 form will be available on the IEC website from the date the national election is proclaimed for a 15-day period.

If you do not submit a VEC 10 application before the deadline specified in the election timetable, you will not be able to vote.

Once you have submitted your VEC 10 application, you can check the status of your application online on the IEC website.

When do I vote and what do I need?

The date for the elections has not yet been proclaimed, but it will fall between May and mid-August 2024. Once the election date is officially proclaimed, an election timetable will be published, which will include the date on which South Africans abroad will be able to cast their votes at foreign missions overseas.

You can only cast your vote on the date specified in the election timetable.

Take both your South African identity document (either the green ID book, a smartcard ID or a valid temporary ID certificate) and your valid South African passport or valid temporary passport to the foreign mission you’re registered at. DM