Hon Chair, the ACDP commends the IEC, which has run both the general and municipal elections with fairly great competence, resulting in worldwide acclaim and requests for assistance from other countries. The ACDP believes that the IEC will certainly be able to provide similar high standards of national and provincial elections in 2014, notwithstanding the issues highlighted in the Public Protector's report with regard to certain procurements issues within the IEC, which are the subject of deliberations by an ad hoc committee of this House.
The Electoral Amendment Bill seeks largely to improve inclusivity and legitimacy in the electoral process. The ACDP supports the amendments to section 33 that will enable all registered voters who are outside the country to exercise their voting right. A more contentious issue relates to allowing registered citizens abroad the right to vote for provincial legislatures. The Constitutional Court in the Richter v Minister of Home Affairs and Others decision, did not pronounce that registered voters abroad may vote for provincial legislatures. If one, however, accepts the principle that we are allowing citizens living abroad the right to influence the balance of representation in the National Assembly, then surely they should be able to exert the same influence in provincial legislatures, because such voters must be registered first. It would be a relatively simple matter to establish in which provinces they were resident before they left the country. [Interjections.]
The ACDP believes that there is more than sufficient time between now and the 2014 general election for the appropriate arrangements to be made to enable voters outside the country to vote for provincial legislatures. The ACDP appreciates that this issue is now before the Western Cape High Court for decision, but the ACDP believes that it should first have been decided on in the portfolio committee and Parliament, before the court route was chosen.
According to the ACDP, the court challenge brought by the DA appears to be premature, as Parliament has not yet concluded its legislative function with regard to the Bill. It may have been preferable to have had these proposals tabled first and then debated in the portfolio committee and Parliament before launching the High Court application.
The ACDP also appreciates the amendments relating to the prisoners' voting right as a result of the Constitutional Court's decision in the Minister of Home Affairs v National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Re- Integration of Offenders and Others. While we have our reservations about convicted prisoners having the right to vote, the ACDP respects the decision of the Constitutional Court in this regard.
While the ACDP has its reservations on the noninclusion of the provision for ballot for expatriates, we will, however, support the Bill. I thank you. [Applause.]