Pretoria - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will today publish a final list of political party candidates who are eligible to contest the 22 April General Elections.
According to the IEC, candidates will be issued with their certificates on Tuesday, 7 April.
The IEC also announced that South Africans who are not in the country and who failed to send the IEC their VEC10 notification form, will not be able to vote in the elections as the deadline has closed for submissions.
"Such voter's will not be able to vote in the upcoming national and provincial election. Registration of voters who will not be at their voting station or out of the country on Election Day has been closed," the IEC said.
However, those that have already applied for special vote in the upcoming 2009 national and provincial elections and are registered voters will be able to cast their ballots before the Election Day.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Adv Pansy Tlakula, said only certain categories of voters qualify to cast a special vote on 20 and 21 April within the country or on the 15 April at the South African missions abroad.
According to Ms Tlakula South Africans who qualify for a special vote includes people with physical infirmity, disability and pregnancy.
She said South Africans also qualify if they are absent due to Government service abroad, being an election official and being a member of the security services performing an election duty.
"Being temporarily absent from the country for the purpose of a holiday, a business trip, attending a tertiary institution, on an educational visit or participating in an international sports event," she said also qualifies for a special vote.
Potential voters in the category of physical infirmity, disability and pregnancy can apply either between 1 April to 14 April at the office of the Municipal Electoral Officer or on 20 April between 9am and 5pm at the office of the Presiding Officer of the voting district which they are registered.
Adv Tlakula said if potential voters find themselves in hospital in a different town or city they must apply between 1 and 14 April at the Municipal Electoral Office of the town in which the hospital is situated.
She said IEC officials will visit such voters on 20 and 21 April at the venue indicated on their application to enable them to cast their votes.
"Election officials, members of the security forces performing election duty as well as South Africans who will be outside the borders of the country and have indicated they wanted to vote before departure, can apply and vote on 20 and 21 April between 9am and 5pm at the office of the presiding officer of the voting district in which they have registered," she said.
