In a submission to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) has called for changes to the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill to enable most prisoners and South African citizens residing abroad to vote in next year's national election.

The SACC acknowledged that it is not inherently unconstitutional to limit the rights of convicted prisoners, but noted that there must be a compelling rationale for limiting anyone's constitutional rights. The Council expressed concern for the safety of election officials, but also warned that it would be discriminatory to disenfranchise those in prison simply because they could not afford to pay a fine. In an effort to balance these factors, the Council proposed that only those convicted of serious offences (murder, rape, aggravated robbery, or attempts at any of these) be excluded from voting.

The SACC observed that, by terminating the Electoral Commission's authority to offer special votes to certain categories of voters, the Bill would effectively prohibit South African citizens resident abroad from voting - unless they are government employees.

The Council acknowledged that there are serious logistical difficulties with accommodating citizens who are temporarily absent from the Republic. However, it argued that if provision is made for government employees stationed abroad to vote, then it should not be substantially more difficult or more expensive to extend the opportunity to other South Africans living abroad. It allowed that a case could be made for excluding those South Africans who also enjoy citizenship and voting rights in their country of residence.

The Council prefaced its remarks by expressing appreciation for the work of the Electoral Task Team, chaired by Dr Fredrick van Zyl Slabbert, and endorsing the recommendation's contained in the Task Team's majority report.

"The current system of artificially created 'constituencies', in terms of which an elected official from one area can be assigned to 'represent' a completely different area, was a response to a particular set of historical conditions," said Dr Molefe Tsele, General Secretary of the SACC. "There is now a need to move towards the development of more natural ties between elected officials and constituencies." However, the Council accepted that there is not sufficient time to implement the Task Team's proposals before the next election.

For more information, contact Fr. Joe Mdhlela, 083 641 1281.