DA Seeks voting rights abroad

ponder said:
Personally I think it should be the last province they lived in or the one they spent most of their lives in, they should pick one on the condition that they were registered as voters there before.

But then again the ANC busses people into areas for voting so what is the real issue...
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And what about citizens who haven't ever lived in SA, should they get to pick a province too? I'm all for letting citizens vote, but at the national level. The only change I want to see is making it easier for them to register in other countries. Voting stations in places like Perth would be nice, but SA has embassies in almost every country, and people in other countries can make an effort to vote.
 
the FF+ won their case to secure a right for SA citizens living abroad to vote
the DA is dovetailing and trying to ensure that SA citizens living abroad can vote for both National and Provincial which is a different kettle of fish:
(1) this would require that voting stations abroad maintain 10 ballot registers as opposed to 1
(2) the voter registration system would have to accommodate a person not resident in a province setting what province to register in
(3) a person in South Africa but out of their home province at the time of the elections would now be in a worse position than somebody who does not reside in SA and has no tie to any particular province would be able to vote for that province. Why should somebody who lived in Gauteng and now lives in London vote for Gauteng when somebody who lived in the Eastern Cape and now temporarily lives in the Western Cape must vote for a Western Cape election
(4) Municipal elections are strictly tied to locality. Apart from being held with the General Election our provincial ballot is more properly a local election than a national identity election. Provinces scope of powers and responsibilities are of a nature that ties to the resident electorate (ambulances, parks, butcheries etc ...) as opposed to national identity. A Scotsman outside of the UK remains a Scotsman - it is a nationality - whereas a South African abroad is not tied at all to their province. If we want to give people a right to vote extraterritorially as a principle to be adhered to where practicable then a person should be able to vote for a metro elsewhere - I am sure you'll find enough people with a sufficient interest in Bloemfontein living in London to warrant a ballot box for Manguang and you could have whole polling stations for Jhb in CT and the other way around. We vote for provinces and municipalities based on our residence and enrollment on the applicable roll.

Of course I shouldn't comment because the DA brigade will seek to lynch me for pointing out that they are pulling a stupid political stunt on the back of a victory by a smaller party who has done more for democracy than the DA.
 
The FF+ should be given credit for giving expats the right to vote during the last elections. I don't see how expats could vote provincially, it makes no sense.
 
phaktza said:
Why do you hate democracy?
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is what you should be asking the ANC and DA on a daily basis.
The FF+ loves democracy and got a sound case.
The DA can't get its way in the ballot box so it selectively - and malevolently very often - runs to the courts with a double edged threat: if the courts rule in the DAs favour good on an "independent judiciary" if the ruling goes against them well then the judge is personally attacked by a prominent member of the party.
 
Paul Hjul said:
is what you should be asking the ANC and DA on a daily basis.
The FF+ loves democracy and got a sound case.
The DA can't get its way in the ballot box so it selectively - and malevolently very often - runs to the courts with a double edged threat: if the courts rule in the DAs favour good on an "independent judiciary" if the ruling goes against them well then the judge is personally attacked by a prominent member of the party.
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Nobody cares Paul. Nobody cares.
 
Giving expats provincial voting rights is akin to giving parties the right to bus voters to other provinces. This sounds like it will come back to bite the DA in the ass if it goes through. Floor crossing, anyone?
 
joelus said:
I'm not sure it makes sense to give them a provincial vote?
National, yes, but provincial might be complicated - especially if they have been living outside of the country for an extended period of time - do they just choose a province or is it the last province they ever lived in?
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I think we should not get the national vote either if living outside the country longer than a period of time, say, 12 months. In addition if expats are able to vote in the foreign country, then they should not be allowed to vote in an SA election. When I started voting in UK elections, I stopped voting in SA elections.
 
zippy said:
I think we should not get the national vote either if living outside the country longer than a period of time, say, 12 months. In addition if expats are able to vote in the foreign country, then they should not be allowed to vote in an SA election. When I started voting in UK elections, I stopped voting in SA elections.
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Maybe people left South Africa because of an incompetent Government, should they not be given the opportunity to vote for a competent Government so they can return?
 
zippy said:
I think we should not get the national vote either if living outside the country longer than a period of time, say, 12 months. In addition if expats are able to vote in the foreign country, then they should not be allowed to vote in an SA election. When I started voting in UK elections, I stopped voting in SA elections.
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What is your reasoning behind this opinion?
 
I'm on the fence here actually.

Not sure I agree with allowing ex=pats to vote at a provincial level. As pointed out - where do they cast their vote - which province?
More importantly, I don't agree they should have the right to vote if they have been out of the country more than a few years. They don't know exactly what is going on here - therefore how can they possibly cast an educated vote?
 
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Tander said:
I'm on the fence here actually.

Not sure I agree with allowing ex=pats to vote at a provincial level. As pointed out - where do they cast their vote - which province?
More importantly, I don't agree they should have the right to vote if they have been out of the country more than a few years. They don't know exactly what is going on here - therefore how can they possibly case an educated vote?
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Educated vote? In South Africa?

J+Jameson+laughing+Meme+peter+parker+spider+man.gif
 
Tander said:
I'm on the fence here actually.

Not sure I agree with allowing ex=pats to vote at a provincial level. As pointed out - where do they cast their vote - which province?
More importantly, I don't agree they should have the right to vote if they have been out of the country more than a few years. They don't know exactly what is going on here - therefore how can they possibly case an educated vote?
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If they still see themselves as SA citizens, I'm all for them voting in the National vote.
 
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