The Department of International Relations and Cooperation risks being hauled to court if it does not increase the number of temporary foreign missions, so that expats can vote abroad. 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) Abroad network has written to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) asking it to request temporary missions where South Africans can vote abroad.

If the IEC and department do not oblige, the party will challenge the government in court, said its chairperson, Ludre Stevens.

However, DIRCO spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, said the DA was barking up the wrong tree.

"They are writing to the wrong people. They should be writing to the IEC. The work is done by the IEC. The centre to be increased, more places available - write to the agency who runs elections," he added.

The IEC said it could not increase the number of voting centres abroad because the law did not allow it. 

South Africans abroad can vote at 125 voting centres, which include embassies, high commissions and consulates.

"We work with what the law provides," IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo told News24.

The DA said the current arrangement potentially excluded thousands of voters who did not live in nearby capital cities. 

"There are artificial barriers for South Africans overseas. You have to vote in South African missions.

"In Australia, 206 000 South African citizens live there, and you can only vote in Canberra. If you want to vote, you will have to take a five-hour flight from Perth," Stevens added. 

He said that, at present, there were 77 000 people in the South Africans in Perth Facebook group alone.

"Many people would want to vote, but cannot."

The DA has called on the government to open voting centres in 14 new locations abroad. 

"We are saying just put up 14 more to make it 139 and service people where they are. Fourteen new voting centres do not break the bank," Stevens said. 

Mamabolo said the law did not empower the IEC to request more centres. 

"The law must change. Currently, my reading of Section 33 of the Electoral Act is that voting abroad can take place at embassies, high commissions and consulates," he said.

South Africans abroad can register or re-register to vote at 120 high commissions, embassies and consulates on Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday (depending on the country).

The IEC has also launched an online registration portal for expats who want to vote abroad. 

Mamabolo said 10 000 South Africans have successfully registered since the portal went live in December.

However, Stevens said the system had many glitches.

"Many people who wanted to register have not been able to," he said, adding they had asked the IEC for an error report on the newly launched system.

In the 2019 elections, of the 31 314 South Africans registered to vote abroad, only 19 950 cast their ballots.

Of those who voted, the DA secured the majority at 74%. 

London is the busiest voting centre outside of South Africa, followed by Dubai and The Hague.

The DA said it was campaigning hard among South African expats, but was expecting a challenge from newly formed smaller parties. 

The ANC secured a mere 2 153 votes abroad in the 2019 elections.