By: Sello Theletsane
The ANC has been handed a life as the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) announced that it would re-open voter and candidate registrations.
The IEC announced on Monday following marathon weekend meetings where the IEC tried to comply with the Constitutional Court judgement that said the local government elections should be held by 1 November 2021.
IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela in a statement said the Commission was taking measures to ensure that it complies with the orders of the Constitutional Court.
“In view of the fact that the voter registration process has been re-opened by the order of the Court, a number of amendments to the electoral timetable are necessary. This is permitted by the Constitutional Court’s order, which makes it clear that the Commission is entitled to ‘publish such amendments to the current timetable as may be reasonably necessary,'” Bapela said.
“This includes the need to set a new deadline for candidate nominations. The scheme of the Municipal Electoral Act is such that the voter registration deadline is intended to precede the candidate nomination deadline. For example, persons can only be nominated as candidates once registered on the voters’ roll and provided they are registered in the relevant segment concerned.”
Bapela said it was necessary to allow political parties and independent candidates an opportunity to nominate candidates after the registration weekend of 18-19 September 2021 has occurred and after the voters’ roll has closed.
This will be a welcomed announcement by the ANC which was at risk of missing out on votes in more than 90 municipalities nationwide. The party had approached the Electoral Court after failing to convince the IEC to re-open the process by subsequently withdrew its challenge at the eleventh hour and announced it would wait for the Constitutional Court ruling.
Bapela said a meeting of the National Party Liaison Commission was held on Monday, and based on the outcomes, there are different interpretations among parties as to whether the order of the Constitutional Court permits the Commission to re-open nominations.
“The Commission has taken advice on the matter and is of the view that amending the timetable to re-open nominations is reasonably necessary in the circumstances. There are currently 77 970 candidates, of which 911 are independent. Following the proclamation of the election date on 20 September 2021, the Commission will publish an amended election timetable which will provide truncated timelines. The truncated timeline is reasonably necessary to meet the outer deadline for the conduct of the 2021 Municipal Elections,” Bapela said.
The announcement was, however, met with criticism by political parties. The Democratic Alliance’s Federal Chairperson, Helen Zille, said the party would be opposing the opening of the candidate registration process.
Zille said the DA had briefed its lawyers to explore all available legal avenues to oppose the decision by the IEC to re-open its candidate registration process.
“The IEC announced its revised election timetable and a registration weekend after the Constitutional Court dismissed its application to have the Local Government Elections postponed until next year. Instead, the Court granted a 5-day delay. This 5-day window has given the IEC an excuse to re-open the candidate registration process to allow the ANC to register the candidates where it failed to do so by the deadline of 23 August in 93 municipalities,” Zille said.
She said while the Constitutional Court judgment underscored the importance of a voter registration period, which they welcome, they objected to using the window to re-open candidate registration.
“The two are clearly distinct from each other. No prior weekend dedicated to voter registration had been dedicated because this was cancelled in July due to the Covid spike. However, there was a clear deadline for candidate registration, which the ANC missed. It cannot now demand a second bite at the cherry. This has never been granted before when other parties have requested leeway on an IEC deadline, resulting in the NFP’s total exclusion from the 2016 local election and the IFP’s partial exclusion from certain wards in the 2011 election,” she said.
Zille added that Monday’s announcement gives the ANC an advantage that other parties have never enjoyed.
GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron welcomed the IEC’s announcement. He said the Constitutional Court order upheld the right of citizens to register to be a voter and to participate in the elections.
“The IEC’s plan to hold a voter registration weekend on the 18 and 19 September 2021 is welcome. No South African who is eligible to vote should be denied the right to do so because the promulgation of the election took place without a final voter registration opportunity,” he said.
Herron added that Section 19 (3) of the Constitution protects every citizen’s right to stand for political office.
“Sec 158 (1) of the Constitution provides that every qualified registered voter is eligible to be a municipal council member. It follows from the re-opening of the voters roll for new voter registrations and to correct registrations where voters have relocated that these voters have the right to contest the elections as candidates. This requires the candidate nomination process to re-open,” he said.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said it rejected the announcement. Spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the briefing by the IEC, announcing amendments to the Electoral Timeline – including the reopening of Candidate Nominations – showed that they are operating with political bias.
“The interpretation of the judgment by the IEC is not legal, but political. The IFP is consulting with its Legal Team to consider the best possible legal avenues regarding the IEC’s amendments to the Electoral Timeline. We are vehemently opposed to their stance in granting the ANC a second chance when back in 2011 the IFP was not granted the same, nor were there any favours done for the NFP in 2016,” he said.
Hlengwa added that the independence, credibility, and integrity of the IEC is now in question.
“Indeed, it is a sad day for our democracy when we find that our Electoral Commission, a Chapter 9 institution, has been left sorely wanting,” he said.
