Should South African prison inmates be allowed to vote in national general elections?

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Angelpaws

HELL NO!!
As far as I'm concerned, prisoners gave up their right to have rights when they took away someone else's rights by doing whatever they did to end up in prison in the first place!

Don't you just LOVE when the government releases tens of thousands of prisoners in celebration of the President's birthday?? Only in South Africa... *shakes head*

Tsepo

Over my dead body!

General Proud

ok, this is a very interesting question. my viewpoint is that they should not be allowed to vote. by committing, and being convicted of a crime, surely they have given up some of their constitutional rights? voting is a right which is given to law abiding citizens of a country, and by being convicted of a crime, which infringed on the rights of another citizen, surely your right to vote falls away? those people who have done their time and paid the price of their crime can vote.

hopeful_eclectic

We want good leaders in our country...how are we supposed to get them with corrupt voters?

heavy D

definitely not ! to many rights are given to the people ruining this country .they forfeited their rights because they broke the law.

dWali

In most countries prisoners lose their right to vote, and I believe that principle should apply in SA as well. If you are SO bad that you lose your freedom, you should also lose you right to decide what is going to happen to us.

TakeNoticeNow

Absolutely not!! Prisoners have far to many rights as it is !!

jack daniels

The right to vote is a privilege given to all law abiding citizens, the fact that a person is jailed for breaking the law should automatically disqualify them from this right, my answer is no they should not be allowed to vote.

poepies

No no and No!!!

The prisoners in this country is anyway to relaxed in the prisons. I mean they watch TV, they get nice food, sleep in a bed with a blanket, get drugs in the cells, ext.... Sound like a pretty relaxed life to me!

Why call it Prison anyway, why not just call it a one star hotel with boundaries...?

jovvijo

Prisoners voting is Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!

Your hatred of the ANC is clouding your mind. The truth is that nowhere did the ANC want votes from prisoners. The ANC could have used that vote in the first elections because there were still political priosners in prisons in 1994.

Personally, I won't support such a move. The good thing is that the ANC is not even considering such a thing. While to vote for a government of your choice is a Constitutional right - that right is limited to one being a citizen in good standing. They lost their good standing when they were convicted. They must serve their time and hope to vote when they are out of jail.

The other thing is that if they have the right to vote, they must have the right to be voted into office therefore the righ to register a political party. You cannot give them choices inferior to the other voters. Think of a poltical party with its head office in Leeuwkop Prison. Hehehehehe!!!!!!!

razmatttaz...

i dont think de should be allowed to vote...they have been convicted n thus have lost their rights...

Sandra S

Nobody in prison around the world should be allowed to vote. By being convicted they have or should have lost their rights to vote. Unfortunately their are still countries where voting is corrupted by some parties, and bribery is common. It is up to the individual to do their very best to make sure that all elections are run honestly and fairly.

burning brightly

If you have broken a law that caused you to go to jail you have abused the right to, normal voting rights that those who have not broken a law have, you cannot differentiate between prisoners you would have child molesters with voting rights no way ~~

andy

no because what ever crime they have commited, made them lose their rights and ability to have a choice!!!

Lady G

No. It would save a lot of time and money too.

a-naughty-mouse

Viva!!!

Inmates in America aren't allowed to vote. An inmate gave up his/her rights by breaking a law. By disregarding a nation's laws they are sort of saying they don't want to participate in the country's government system.

Unicornrider

No, and I'll tell you why, it's really really simple. Simple enough that even the ANC should be able to grasp this.
They are CRIMINALS. Their way of thinking costs LIVES. They have been REMOVED out of society.

We all know putting anyone in a prison in SA will only make them worse, one in a thousand really reforms. Thanks to the government making empty promises, prison is the shelter most of them count on and everyone else pays for. Housing, food, legal advice all for free.

So NO, they were removed for a good reason, often a violent one, and they should have less rights, not be pampered so that the ANC can fluff their vote count asnd hope for the best. That's a sure sign of a totally depsperate government.

saumitra s

That matters little, any citizen can vote.

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