For us Saffas overseas with only SA’s shoddy news websites to take our lead from, this is extremely confusing. Will we or won’t we vote, is all we want to know. The DA with all their shouting and smoke and mirrors said earlier this week “the ANC voted against DA proposals that would have extended the right of Souht Africans abroad to vote on the national and provincial ballot”.
They said the ruling party also voted against allowing South Africans who will not be in the province where they are registered to vote on election day, to cast a provincial ballot.
This came to us in a statement from the DA’s “Shadow Deputy Minister of Home Affairs” (sounds so British, old chap), Masizole Mnqasela. He added: “We will now continue to fight this matter in court.”
But now we receive another statement, this time from Dr. Corné Mulder, big chief of the FF+ on Home Affairs who says the FF+ “had achieved great success for thousands of South Africans overseas who wish to vote in the general elections of 2014”.
He then tells us of an amendment which was drafted in accordance with an order of the Constitutional Court to Parliament. “This followed after (‘followed’ and ‘after’ in one sentence?) the FF+ had successfully brought the Electoral Act, which stipulated that South African citizens living abroad may not vote, to the Constitutional Court. The constitutional court ordered that voting could only take place on national level and not provincial level due to practical constraints.”
Huh? So we will vote on national level but not on provincial level. That seems to be clear.
But more mystery… Or shall we merely call it politics. The FF+ says the DA “voted against the Bill”. (?)
Dr. Mulder said that he was astounded over the DA’s actions (so are we) as it could withhold the opportunity to vote in next year’s elections from thousands of South Africans. If the Bill is not accepted now as a result of the DA’s actions or is delayed due to court cases, this option lapses for all South Africans abroad.
So we might not vote… (?)
Why did the DA do this? Do they have a different agenda to the FF+? Surely we merely want to vote, not see who can take all the credit for it – if it happens.
Everything sounds extremely dodgy and we have enough dodgy Pommies to deal with here on the Queen’s Mud Patch already.
All we know for sure is that some “amendments (are) now being made to the Electoral Act”. Will this allow South Africans overseas to register as voters in the country where they find themselves at present? This wasn’t the case previously.
And what about the DA? Big chief Mulder says they are being “opportunistic”.
“The DA is playing here for votes by trying to create the impression with the public that it is fighting for them.
“Be honest just for once and acknowledge the attempt won’t succeed. I can merely hope that the DA will come to its senses about this,” says Mulder.
DA, over to you….