Furthermore, the constitution does not qualify the term citizen, it simply states that a citizen will be allowed to vote and makes no stipulation on the geographic location of that citizen.  By denying these South African citizens will be unconstitutional.  Government's decision is incomprehensible in that individuals working for government or their family members who are abroad during next years election will be entitled to vote, but students, tourists and businesspeople will be denied the right.  If government officials and their family members are entitled to vote, then provision should be made for any other citizen who find themselves outside of the country during the general elections. 

Government's excuse that they do not have the necessary resources to accommodate the overseas citizens is unacceptable as the same resources that will make provision for government officials should be used to facilitate the voting procedure for non-government employees.  Given that the electoral bill allows for incarcerated prisoners awaiting trial to vote, the same privilege should be extended to South African Citizens who happen to be out of the country.  It is commonly known that many South Africans have sought employment overseas, leaving a drastic shortage of professionals in the country.  By denying these professionals their democratic right to vote in their country's general election will further isolate them from South Africa.