he DA Abroad is calling on all South Africans abroad, who are registered to vote, to submit the VEC10 form at South African foreign missions before the deadline at midnight (UTC +2:00) on the 13 March 2019.

South Africans living abroad will be casting their votes at foreign missions around the world on Freedom Day, 27 April 2019.

Even as submissions of the VEC10 forms continue to be received at foreign missions, it is concerning to note that only 13,316 VEC10 forms have been submitted by South Africans to notify the IEC that they intend to vote out of the country.

We believe that there are many more South Africans eligible to vote and this election presents them with a unique opportunity to make their voices heard.

As proud South Africans, who care deeply about the future of our country and where it is going, this election is the most important yet for our young democracy.

It is a referendum on whether we continue on the current path with a failing ANC government or we have a national renewal through a DA government that will ensure there is a job in every household, fight crime, secure our borders, improve service delivery and ensure that all South Africans prosper.

While the ANC government has tried to create obstacles and frustrate South Africans living abroad from casting their vote, we have nonetheless succeeded in lobbying the IEC for weekend voting. We will continue to fight for fair access to voting by making it easy for citizens to secure their IDs and passports.

In order to secure your vote, DA Abroad aims to have Party Agents at as many of the voting stations abroad as possible. We will observe that the voting process is administered correctly, that all votes are counted and put into the tamper-proof bags, and that they arrive safely at the IEC’s counting station in Pretoria where we will have DA Party Agents observing the opening of the bags and the counting of the votes.

For this election, the voting day abroad is considerably earlier than the election in South Africa in order to allow votes to arrive back in time to be counted.

Information on how to submit your VEC10 form today and cast your vote on 27 April 2019 can be accessed on this link: bit.ly/VEC10-2019

We are also aware that many South Africans abroad are concerned that by submitting the VEC10 form they believe that the IEC will be sharing this information with SARS who intend to tax South Africans abroad with the new legislation coming into effect in 2020.

Firstly, you’ll note that when you fill in the VEC10 form they don’t ask for your residential address. This is because they IEC are not concerned with where you are currently residing abroad, they just want to know where you want to vote abroad.

Secondly, we have been assured in writing by the IEC that the voters roll is solely intended for electoral purposes, and will not be shared with SARS, and that they take the protection of your personal data very seriously.

Every vote can make a difference and the DA Abroad would like to encourage all South Africans abroad to complete their VEC10 form today and help build a One South Africa for All.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VOTING ABROAD

If you are a registered South African citizen you can vote in the upcoming elections. South Africans abroad will vote at their nearest South African Embassy, High Commission or Consulate-General on the 27th April 2019.

In order to vote abroad you need to:

Be registered to vote - you can check your status here: https://www.elections.org.za/content/For-voters/My-voter-registration-details/
Submit a VEC10 form to the IEC by midnight (UTC +2:00) on the 13 March 2019 notifying them of your intention to vote abroad: bit.ly/VEC10-2019
Have BOTH your green, bar-coded ID book; smartcard ID; or valid Temporary Identity Certificate; and your valid South African passport or temporary passport to vote.

Issued by The DA