House Chairperson, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, comrades and Members of Parliament, once again the two arms of our government, namely the legislature and the executive, are demonstrating the caring nature of our government. Allow me, therefore, to prompt you to recall that section 19(3) (a) of the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa states that, and I quote: "Every adult citizen has the right to vote in elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution, and to do so in secret."
Through the Electoral Amendment Bill, we are sending a clear message to our people that we shall spare no effort in our endeavour to protect their rights to dignity and equality, as entrenched in sections 10 and 19 of the Constitution.
In the same vein, we take notice of the wise words of the Constitutional Court in the 1999 case of August and Another v the Electoral Commission and Others when it said, and I quote:
The universality of the franchise is important not only for nationhood and democracy. The vote of each and every citizen is a badge of dignity and of personhood.
Quite literally, it says that everybody counts. Our message today is that every South African counts and because of that it is our duty to ensure that as far as it is reasonably practical, all citizens are afforded the opportunity to wear their badges of dignity and personhood.
The Electoral Laws Amendment Act, Act 34 of 2003, which amended the Electoral Act, Act 73 of 1998, had the effect of disenfranchising persons sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine by preventing them from registering as voters and also preventing them from voting whilst in correctional centres. However, unsentenced detainees and detainees incarcerated because of their failure to pay fines imposed on them retained their right to register and vote. In the 2003 case of Minister of Home Affairs v National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders, Nicro, the Constitutional Court declared the provisions of the amendment Act of 2003 to be inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore invalid. In other words, the court found no justification in denying persons sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine the right to register and vote. The decision to extend the franchise to persons sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine is given effect by clause 4 of the Bill we are now commending to this august House.
Clause 4 amends section 8 of the principal Act to provide for the substitution of the provision that the chief electoral officer may not register a person as a voter if that person is serving a sentence of imprisonment without the option of a fine. Every citizen does indeed count and his or her perceived or real offending conduct is insufficient as justification to deny his or her badge of dignity and personhood. The right to vote imposes an obligation upon the state not merely to refrain from interfering with the exercise of this right, but to take positive steps to ensure that it can be exercised.
The principal Act is based on the principle that voters must vote in the voting districts in which they are registered. I, however, would like to draw your attention to two exceptions to this general rule. The first is the procedure provided for in section 24(a), whereby a voter who cannot vote in his or her voting district on polling day may, on that day, apply to the presiding officer at a voting station in another district for permission to vote in that district. If the person is seeking to vote outside the province in which he or she is registered, the presiding officer may permit the voter to vote in the national elections only. The second exception permits voters in circumstances where they will not be able to vote at a voting station in the voting district in which they are registered on polling day, to apply for a special vote within the stipulated time, which will permit them to vote before polling day.
In the same vein, section 33 of the principal Act provides that a registered voter who is unable to vote in his or her district the polling day, must be allowed a special vote if the inability to vote is due to temporary absence from the republic for purposes of a holiday, a business trip, attendance at a tertiary institution, an educational visit or participating in an international sports event.
In the 2009 case of Richter v the Minister of Home Affairs, the Constitutional Court found that section 33 excluded other voters, who were absent from the republic on voting day, from participating in the elections. The court said, and I quote: "It cannot be said, however, that requiring a voter to travel thousands of kilometers across the globe to be in their voting district on voting day is exacting reasonable compliance from a voter." The court concluded that the section is inconsistent with the Constitution and as a result ordered that the language of the section should be amended to make clear that special votes should be extend to any registered voter who will be absent from the Republic on polling day and who gives notice within the prescribed time to the chief electoral officer.
It is against this background that I commend clause 6 of the Bill before the House, which substitutes section 33 of the Act, to provide for the commission to allow a person to apply for and cast a special vote prior to the election day, if that person cannot vote at a voting station in the voting district in which he or she is registered as a voter due to, amongst others, being absent from the Republic.
It should be apparent to hon members that the general principle that voters must vote in the voting district in which they are registered remains. It is also clear that the second exception now covers all registered voters who are absent from the country on the voting day. However, those who are absent from the country and those that are absent from their provinces may not cast a provincial vote. Indeed, every citizen counts.
We should bear in mind that the obligation of the government to take steps to ensure that the right to vote is exercised, should not be unreasonably burdensome for the government. I submit to you that since provincial votes would have to be counted in the voting stations where the voters were registered, transporting provincial votes cast abroad to more than 20 000 voting districts throughout the country would constitute a logistical burden on the commission.
I take this opportunity to encourage all South Africans to register to vote and to vote, as provided for by the law. It remains our unshaken conviction that the vote of every citizen is a badge of dignity and personhood and we shall always endeavour to protect the rights to dignity and equality of all South Africans. I thank you. [Applause.]