Expats Get Ready – the President has ‘Proclaimed’ the Election Date

Calling all South Africans abroad who are registered to vote! President Zuma has today signed the election date proclamation!

Important for Expats:

• It will be published in the Government Gazette on Tuesday 25th February
• From that date, you will have 15 days to complete and submit the VEC10 form online
• The form will ONLY be available at this website:  http://www.elections.org.za/
• You will find the link for the VEC10 form under For Voters > Voting Outside South Africa (VEC10) menu item on the above site
• You do not need to print it out. Fill in everything online.
• That link will only be available from 25th February for 15 days.
• Once the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has confirmed that you are eligible to vote – they will send you an email or text message to let you know IF and WHEN you can vote at the foreign mission you selected.
• You CAN submit a VEC10 even if your registration application hasn’t been processed yet, BUT you must be a registered voter by the time the voters’ roll is certified (which is usually a few days after proclamation date).
• The voting day for expats has not yet been announced but will likely be before 7th May 2014.

Important for those in South Africa:

• 7th May 2014 is Election Day
• The Voters’ Roll will close on 25th February (so hurry if you’re not registered yet!)
• The President has also declared the 7th May as a public holiday throughout the country.