The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that registered voters living overseas can vote for the national assembly in the 22 April elections.

South African citizens living abroad who are not yet registered will not be allowed to vote.

Those who can vote must notify the chief electoral officer of their intention to vote by 27 March, the court ordered.

Handing down the first of two separate judgments Justice Kate O'Regan said the right to vote had a symbolic and democratic value and those who were registered should not be limited by unconstitutional and invalid limitations in the Electoral Act.

South African expats can vote

However, a second judgment by Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that unregistered voters overseas could not vote.

The limitations had been in effect since 2003 and the applicants had not explained why they had left the challenge so late.

The two judgments

He explained that the effect of the two judgments is: "South African citizens abroad and who are registered as voters will be allowed to vote. Those who are not registered, will not."

This follows an application by the Freedom Front Plus on behalf of a Pretoria school teacher working in the UK, as well as representation by the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Democratic Alliance, the A-Party, a lobby group, and an independent group of South Africans living overseas.

They had argued that it is their constitutional right to vote and that limitations in the Electoral Act which meant they did not fall into the certain categories allowed to vote, were unfair.

A judgment in favour of the teacher, Willem Richter, in the Pretoria High court in February ordered that the minister of home affairs and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) extend the right to special votes to all categories of registered voters who are away from South Africa.

The IEC had to amend the Election Regulations accordingly.

Following that judgment the second judgment began, which relates to being able to register for the vote overseas.