South African Embassies Not All Ready to Register Citizens for Elections

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is concerned that South African embassies in Geneva, Berne and Paris are not yet allowing South African citizens to register to vote in the 2019 elections.

The DA Abroad claims it has received complaints from South African citizens living in these cities that they have been turned away when attempting to register.

“Upon phoning these embassies we have been told by officials that they are not yet ready to register voters,” says Mike Moriarty, DA Principal Representative of the Party Liaison Committee.

SAPeople was also told during various phone calls to the Paris Embassy that it was not yet ready, despite the IEC (Electoral Commission of South Africa) also telling us that a communication has gone out to all embassies around the world.

Moriarty points out that South Africans in SA have already had a registration weekend this year, and can at any point visit an IEC office to register and update their details.

“South African citizens living and working abroad are, by law, afforded the same opportunity through South African embassies.

“It is unacceptable that South Africans living in these cities have not been allowed to register due to the tardiness of officials,” he said.

The DA says it will write to both the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the IEC to ascertain what the hold-up is and how long it will take before this situation is rectified.

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