Grateful for the opportunity to vote, three former South African citizens, now living abroad, are going the extra mile to cast their votes in the national general elections this weekend.

The trio told Weekend Witness about their process of registering for the special vote, and unlike some South Africans who have a voting station close by, they will have to travel just to cast their votes.

Shannon and Terrence Wilson are excited to be taking part in this year’s national elections since they have been abroad for a year and a half.

Pietermaritzburg-born, but currently based in Leicestershire, England, Shannon said she is a sales representative for a materials-handling equipment company, and her husband is a software engineer.

She said they registered to vote online.

“The process was quite easy, we scanned our passports and IDs and got an email of confirmation,” she said.

Wilson said they moved abroad after her husband was offered a job opportunity that he wouldn’t have been given in South Africa.

“We are glad that we are getting the opportunity to cast our vote, it is, however, going to cost us around R2 400 to travel to London and back to vote as we live roughly two hours away from Trafalgar Square, so I wouldn’t say I’m looking forward to it, but I’m sure we will enjoy meeting up with fellow South Africans and make it a good day.”

Dan Scott, originally from Bergville, which is in the Okhahlamba District, said he found the registration process fairly easy.

Scott has been living abroad in Castletown situated on the Isle of Man for three years, having previously lived in Gelterkinden, Switzerland.

The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland.

“I’ve been in and out of South Africa for eight years; however, my family are still farming in the Bergville,” he said.

Scott said he has lived most of his life in Pietermaritzburg.

“I was a border from the age of eight years old, attending Merchiston Preparatory School and went on to complete my schooling at St Charles College and my tertiary education at Varsity College,” he said.

Scott works for a company called Rare Air, an aircraft investment developer based in the Isle of Man.

Scott said he went abroad following his love for travel and experiencing different cultures.

“Despite all that I have experienced abroad, there is nothing like home though,” he said.

Scott said the registration process was effortless.

“I found the process very easy and straightforward. All I had to do was log on and do everything online. The system battled with my passport scan, but otherwise the identification process was very straightforward. I just don’t understand why more South Africans didn’t sign up,” he said.

In order for Scott to cast his vote he will have to take an hour’s flight to London.

“The Isle of Man is a little island in the middle of the Irish Sea. I can’t wait to be surrounded with like-minded people with the best intentions for the country we love and call home,” said Scott.