By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
There is a growing dispute between the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) regarding the challenges faced by South Africans living abroad.
The dispute follows after voters in Perth, Australia discovered that they could only vote at the South African High Commission in Canberra, while South Africans living in Malta will have to travel to Rome to vote.
DA has now approached the Electoral Court to force the DIRCO to open more voting stations abroad.
The IEC has already announced that embassies in Ukraine, Sudan and Israel are not expected to open for voting.
The commission has appealed to South Africans abroad to register to vote or to check their status for the first time, using the online portal.
But South Africa’s electoral system does not allow for electronic voting.
The opposition party says it submitted legal papers to the Electoral Court on Thursday to request the inclusion of all embassies, high commissions and consulates as voting stations abroad.
The DA’s federal council chairperson Helen Zille said this is in response to complaints from South Africans living in Perth, who want the consulate there to serve as a voting station and not only the embassy in Canberra.
The DA argues that DIRCO and the IEC should for the purposes of voting not differentiate between consulates headed by transferred staff, and those led by honorary consuls.
Meanwhile the IEC has published the seats determination for provincial legislatures ahead of the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.
The seats are determined in accordance with Section 105(2) of the Constitution Act 108 of 1996 and item 3(1) of Schedule 3 to the Electoral Act No.73 of 1998.
“The provincial legislatures’ seats determination takes into account scientifically based data on the population in each province, as well as representation by interested parties.
“The total number of seats to be contested in provincial legislatures is 445, subject to the finalisation of the Western Cape province,” the Electoral Commission said in a statement on Friday.
Seat determination is as follows:
| Province | 20222 Census Data Population Figures | 2024 Seat Determination |
| Gauteng | 15,1 million | 80 |
| Limpopo | 6,4 million | 64 |
| Mpumalanga | 5,1 million | 51 |
| North-West | 3,8 million | 38 |
| Free State | 3,0 million | 30 |
| Kwa-Zulu Natal | 12,4 million | 80 |
| Northern Cape | 1,4 million | 30 |
| Eastern Cape | 7,2 million | 72 |
| Western Cape | 7,4 million | Still to be finalised in accordance with theprovincialconstitution. |
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce the date for the 2024 national elections soon.