South African expats troop to polling booths

South African expatriates turned out in force yesterday to take advantage of their first chance for 15 years to vote in national elections. South Africans working overseas had been denied a vote ever since the African National Congress came to power with the end of apartheid in 1994. But two months ago, the constitutional court ruled otherwise. The estimated 48,000 South Africans in the UAE greeted the ruling with enthusiasm. About 1,400 registered with the electoral commission, and yesterday they made their way to the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai to cast their votes, a week before the election in South Africa. An otherwise smooth process was marred slightly by a bomb scare at their nation's Abu Dhabi embassy and confusion about voting eligibility which prevented some South African expatriates from voting. For most, voting was a straight forward process, but others were turned away for various reasons - such as failing to register their expatriate addresses in Abu Dhabi or failing to bring both passports and national identity cards. The embassy's only role was to host the polling, which was organised by the Independent Electoral Commission. Ambassador Yacoob Abba Omar said the polls opened an hour late, at 8am, after a suspicious package was found outside the embassy. The street was closed and a bomb squad was called to do a controlled explosion. The package proved to be harmless. Mr Omar estimated that once the polls opened, about 20 citizens were turned away in the first five hours because of eligibility problems. He said the rushed process of including expatriates in the election was partly to blame for the mistakes, but also that some citizens had failed to take all the necessary preparatory steps. Among those told they could not vote were Kevin and Louise Gleeson, originally from Cape Town but now living in Abu Dhabi. Mr Gleeson said they were determined to cast ballots, and took time off work to vote at lunchtime yesterday after checking their eligibility last week. They completed the necessary paperwork, only to be told by a woman administering the ballots that they could not take part. "She said our names aren't on the list and we can't vote," Mr Gleeson said. "I asked what we should do, whether we should just go. Then I said we wanted to make a complaint." It was worthwhile, because the returning officer then allowed them to vote. So the Gleesons voted but still complained about being told initially they were ineligible. Rudi du Plessis, an Abu Dhabi resident for six years, filled in the application form to register in Abu Dhabi but was turned away without casting his ballot because he brought only his passport and not his national identity card. "It's a pity for me," he said. "This is the only time we have had the chance to vote in 15 years." Chad Mouton was also turned away because he did not have his identity card. "As a South African it is my right to vote," he said. "I do understand that, being in South Africa, you need your identity book but, as an expat, I think a lot of people who want to vote will be missing out because they won't have them." Romek Kaminski registered as an Abu Dhabi resident but was told at the embassy that the records showed he was registered in Dubai and would have to vote at the consulate there. He was later allowed to vote in Abu Dhabi. arolandi@thnational.ae jhenzell@thenational.ae