Lobby group AfriForum has become the latest addition to Wednesday's Constitutional Court hearing on extending voting rights to people living abroad.

They have applied to be admitted as friends of the court, along with the Democratic Alliance, the Inkatha Freedom Party and the Freedom Front Plus.

Friends of the court usually present aspects of law that will help judges consider the application by the main parties.

The mammoth hearing, set down for Wednesday, and if necessary Friday, is as a result of three separate applications relating to the same issue that will be heard on the same day.

They challenge the constitutional validity of certain sections of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998 and the related regulations.

The first matter is brought by Willem Richter, a South African citizen and registered voter, living in the United Kingdom until the end of 2009 where he works as a teacher.

He applied to the Pretoria High Court to have certain parts of section 33 of the Act declared unconstitutional and invalid on the basis that they unfairly deny certain categories of South African citizens who are absent from South Africa the right to vote.

An earlier ruling

On 9 February, the Pretoria High Court declared certain parts of section 33 of the act to be unconstitutional and invalid.

Section 33 deals with special votes and who can apply for permission to vote outside of the registered voting station. It deals with people who are pregnant, infirm or disabled and cannot vote in the district they registered in, people on a business trip, holiday, sports competition, educational visit or government employees living abroad, people working as election officers or security people working at electoral sites.

The court ordered the minister of home affairs and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to extend the right to special votes to registered voters out of the country.

The IEC also had to amend the Election Regulations of 2004.

The second and third applications are the A Party, and another group of people also living abroad.

The case is against the minister of home affairs, the IEC and the department of foreign affairs.

AfriForum argues that in terms of the Constitution, every citizen has the right to vote, with no conditions attached.