Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
17 May 2024 | 11:15 CAT
3 min read

Today marks a significant moment for South Africans living abroad, as more than 24,000 registered voters are set to cast their ballots at the country’s missions worldwide. This is part of a larger cohort of over 78,000 expatriates who will have the opportunity to vote today, tomorrow, and Sunday.

According to Electoral Commission Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo, nine countries will hold their elections on Friday, while the remaining 102 nations will follow suit on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Mamabolo made this announcement during a media briefing in Pretoria, highlighting the global reach of South Africa’s electoral process.

The Democratic Alliance Abroad has deployed over 100 party agents globally to ensure fair and transparent elections, with London emerging as the largest voting station, surpassing Joubert Park.

In an interview with Radio Islam, Werner Horn of the DA clarified that the party has deployed at least one party agent to most missions serving as voting stations despite the numerous foreign missions globally. Out of approximately 120 foreign missions, 111 will function as voting stations this weekend. Specifically in London, where around 25,000 voters are registered to vote over Saturday and Sunday, there will be four streams of voting stations operational.

Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo announced earlier this week that all South African missions abroad had received the necessary election materials, comprising ballot papers, voting booths, ballot boxes, envelopes, and voter lists. With preparations in place, the Electoral Commission anticipates a global turnout of 76,580 voters participating in the upcoming elections.

“Typically, in the past, the governing party, the ANC, has had agents, and in London specifically because historically it has been the biggest station since voting abroad has been facilitated, some other parties have also had agents, but typically, we expect it to remain the same as the party with the biggest footprint when it comes to party agents overseas,” said Horn.

According to Horn, there has been a notable increase in the number of South Africans showing interest in voting abroad compared to 2019.
“What made it much easier this year was that the online registration platform was made available to South Africans abroad. They didn’t have to register at the consulate; that modality indicated a big interest from abroad.

Horn anticipates a fairly high turnout of voters overseas. “When it comes to turnout, it is tricky; in SA, not everyone who registers on the voter roll goes out to vote. First-time registers ordinarily have a 90% plus turnout,” he said.

For South African citizens voting abroad in the 2024 National Election, voting will occur on a single day at their respective missions:

• Missions operating on a work week from Sunday to Thursday will vote on Friday, May 17th, from 7 am to 7 pm. This includes countries such as Algiers, Amman, Cairo, Damascus, Jeddah, Kuwait City, Ramallah, Riyadh, and Tehran.
• Missions operating on a work week from Monday to Friday will vote on Saturday, May 18th, from 7 am to 7 pm.

Additionally, two days of special voting have been scheduled for UK-based voters based on the number of voters expected to vote at that mission.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Werner Horn from the Democratic Alliance (DA) party, here.