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3 - 9 December 2013
Issue 543
41565
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NEW ACT ALLOWING SA EXPATS TO VOTE ABROAD IS NOW LAW | President Jacob Zuma has signed the Electoral Amendment Act, which means Saffas
living abroad can now register to vote, and vote, at their local embassy. Here’s how to do it
INSIDE:
p3 | Jacob Zuma accused of corruption on ‘a grand scale’
p7 | Review: Mandela biopic a flawed but powerful film p13 | Cape to Patagonia: sailing along the Tropic of Capricorn
BY NICÓL GROBLER THE President has signed the amendment bill, which now allows South Africans overseas to register to vote in next year’s elections. However, the regulations now need to be published and that process completed before the IEC can start overseas registration. 1. If you have voted before, you are registered (your name stays on the Voters’ Roll for life). 2. If you have not voted before, and cannot remember if you have ever registered yourself as a voter, you can check your status online with the IEC’s handy tool. 3. If you are not registered you will be able to register at the South African High Commission in London, or at any South African High Commission, Consulate or Embassy. Watch this space for further details. For registration outside of South Africa, you must have the green bar-coded Identity Document as well as a valid passport. You must register: • in person • with a green bar-coded ID (in South Africa) or the new smart ID card or a temporary ID book • with a green bar-coded ID and valid passport (outside South Africa, and only once the new law comes into effect)
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| TRAILBLAZING BUSINESS LEADERS: Mark Warren (Innovator of the Year), Sharon Constancon (Woman in Business of the Year), Mark Jankovich (Business Leader of the Year), Karine Torr (Entrepreneur of the Year) and Kurt Won (Rising Star of the Year) were announced as the winners of the annual South African Business Awards UK at a prizegiving on Thursday at Dexter House in London
• in your voting district (unless abroad) • after your 16th birthday (you can only vote after your 18th birthday) • and get a Proof of Registration sticker in your green bar-coded ID book. 5. You must apply to register before 5pm on the day that the President proclaims the date of
an election, or you won’t be able to vote in that election. When the President announces the date of the election South Africans living abroad will have 15 days to complete a VEC10 form online and submit to the IEC to notify them of your intention to vote abroad and indicate at which diplomatic mission, embassy or high
commission you will vote. This form is not yet available, but will be made available closer to the time. You will then receive an email or text message to let you know if you qualify to vote abroad. Voters will only be able to vote in the National Assembly ballot and not for candidates in the provincial legislatures.
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