The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the South African Electoral Commission (IEC) has made preparations for the dispatch of election materials. (Fani Mahunzi/Gallo Images)
- The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said it was ready to ship voting materials overseas.
- The DA recently won a case against the South African Electoral Commission (IEC) to secure more overseas voting stations in 2024.
- Find everything you need to know about the 2024 general election here. News24's election hub.
Pretoria has announced that it is prepared to ship voting materials to 115 countries to enable South Africans living abroad to exercise their democratic right to vote.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dilco) said in a statement that the South African Electoral Commission (IEC) had made preparations for the dispatch of election materials.
“Voting materials will be sent to all of South Africa's 115 overseas missions using diplomatic air cargo bags. Short-term contracts have been signed for this purpose. Diplomatic bags are protected by diplomatic immunity. ”
The ministry said it uses diplomatic bags when shipping official documents and goods to and from South Africa in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
The statement follows the DA's complaint that South African consulates and embassies around the world have to rely on diplomatic baggage services to send and receive highly sensitive communications and consular documents to and from South Africa. It was announced a few days later.
The party said in a statement that the non-existence of the service meant South Africans abroad could no longer send and receive important documents such as marriage certificates, police permits and passports through local embassies.
“Dilco's failure to plan for a timely renewal of this critical service has now resulted in an ad hoc, interim, short-term agreement in which funds can be found and re-allocated internally. “There is,” he said.
“This situation is of grave concern in light of the upcoming national elections, in which citizens overseas are expected to vote within the next three weeks.”
“You need a diplomatic bag to send your ballot to a mission overseas. [and] Counts only if received by IEC in South Africa. Dirco's failure to ensure a functional and seamless provision of diplomatic baggage services during this period would pose a significant threat to the integrity of overseas voting. ”
Read | Election 2024: DA wins legal battle to increase overseas voting stations
The party added: “As of last week, 20 South African embassies across Africa, 13 embassies in Europe and the Americas, and four embassies in Asia had not yet submitted to the ministry the information needed for their voting day diplomatic bags. It was not provided.”
He called Dilko's situation “inexcusable.”
Earlier this month, the DA won a case against the IEC to open more voting stations overseas.
The Electoral Court found that the IEC's decision not to allow overseas voting in consulates headed by honorary consuls should be set aside.
The DA sued the IEC on February 15, demanding that all embassies, high commissions, and consulates be included as polling stations in the 2024 elections.
