making my mark

We were one (or two at least) of a couple of hundred South Africans who applied for, and were granted, a special vote for today. This came about after a ruling by the Constitutional Court on the 12th March that citizens living abroad, and registered to vote, had the right to vote in the upcoming April 22 election. The special voting date was set for the 15th of April, along with a cut-off date for special vote applications of the 27th March.

This follows an application by the Freedom Front Plus on behalf of a Pretoria school teacher working in the UK, as well as representation by the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Democratic Alliance, the A-Party, a lobby group, and an independent group of South Africans living overseas. They had argued that it is their Constitutional right to vote and that limitations in the Electoral Act which meant they did not fall into the certain categories allowed to vote, were unfair.

From the Mail & Guardian online

This is the first time in a looooooong while that South African citizens, and more importantly registered voters, who would not be “home” for the election would be able to vote this way. It is expected to be the most closely contested since 1994!

The picture below is of the queue this morning outside the consulate in Bur Dubai.

Voting in Dubai

[waiting a turn to make history]

History in the making!!

If you are reading this in South Africa I hope you vote, and vote wisely.  I trust your election day is a peaceful one.
 

Animal Rescue

If you would like to contribute a few dollars towards my TNR work with stray cats I would be most grateful

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