MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Overseas online voter registration will go live over coming weekend

Overseas online voter registration will go live over coming weekend

Dear Editor

The DA Abroad welcomes indications from the IEC that overseas online registration will now go live over the coming weekend.

This follows confirmation from IEC Deputy CEO of Electoral Operations, Mr Masego Sheburi, to parliament this week, that the online registration system for voters abroad is now ready and will be open to accept registrations in the next few days.

This is crucial for South Africans abroad to exercise their constitutional right to vote. With almost 2 million citizens overseas in various capacities – including for study, work, holiday or living permanently – this mechanism will ensure unprecedented opportunities to register and to vote.

The IEC further indicated that three consecutive days of overseas registration will take place in January 2024 at South African Embassies and Missions abroad for in-person registration, with the dates yet to be confirmed.

On whether both an identity document and a valid passport would be needed in order to register – considering the challenging turnaround times faced by South Africans abroad – the IEC has indicated that an identity document would be needed for the online registration phase.

The Minister of Home Affairs has committed to meeting with the IEC to iron out the issue of what process would be followed should a citizen be in a position where they had applied for a passport renewal, and this had not been processed in time to vote. This is a welcome move.

The DA Abroad has been advocating for online registration, as well as the establishment of additional voting centres where there is a large concentration of South Africans abroad that are a prohibitive distance away from their nearest South African embassy or mission.

While online registration for overseas citizens has been delayed several times following an initial release date in early October 2023, it is now critical for all citizens to have a fair opportunity to vote in 2024.

The DA Abroad will communicate any further developments as they happen. South Africans abroad are urged to make use of the online registration platform to register as soon as this is officially opened.

Regards

Ludre Stevens
DA Abroad Chairperson

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Older Persons Grants Land Today — No Need to Queue at Dawn

    Dear Editor, Older Persons grants are paid today, 30 October, under SASSA’s revised November payment schedule — with disability grants on Monday 2 November, children’s grants on Tuesday 3 November, and grants under review on Thursday 5 November. Two things every beneficiary should know. First, grant money does not expire on payment day. It stays…

  • November Grants Pay Early – No Need to Queue at Dawn

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. November grants pay earlier than usual. Older Persons grants are paid on Friday 30 October, Disability grants on 2 November, and Child Support and other grants on 3 November. Grants still under review are paid on 5 November. The money…

  • NSFAS 2027 applications close on 31 October — SASSA households, apply now

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. NSFAS applications for the 2027 academic year close on Friday 31 October 2026, and no extension is expected. If your household receives a SASSA grant, your child already passes the NSFAS financial eligibility test — but they still have to…

Reader Interactions

Comments