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Home affairs stonewalls on bill

Linda Ensor ensorl@businesslive.co.za

The department of home affairs opposes all of the many objections against aspects of the Electoral Amendment Bill raised in public hearings held throughout the country by parliament’s home affairs committee. Any change to the bill, which provides for the representation of independent candidates in elections for national and provincial legislatures, will have to be made by the committee.

The department of home affairs opposes all of the many objections against aspects of the electoral amendment bill raised in public hearings held throughout the country by parliament’s home affairs committee.

Therefore, any change to the bill, which provides for the representation of independent candidates in elections for national and provincial legislatures, will have to be made by the committee. It will deliberate on the bill aiming to finalise it on May 24.

The amendment bill arises from the Constitutional Court judgment that the Electoral Act is unconstitutional in providing only for the election of candidates through their membership of political parties and not providing for the election of independent candidates. The court gave parliament 24 months until June 10 to rectify this deficiency.

The department took a long time to come up with a draft bill. Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi told MPs during a committee meeting on Friday that the department had to study electoral systems around the world.

As a result, the bill was introduced in the National Assembly only on January 10, and parliament will not meet the June 10 deadline. Parliament’s presiding officers have applied to the court for an extension of six months. After the committee’s deliberations, the bill will have to be adopted by the National AssemCovid-19

bly and then processed by the National Council of Provinces.

Motsoaledi stressed that there was “no electoral system anywhere in the world that is so perfect as to meet all the concerns and the desires of people in that particular country”.

The department’s response to issues raised during public hearings was given on Friday by its director-general, Tommy Makhode. The department has not changed its position on controversial issues such as allocation of seats to independent candidates, the filling of vacant seats between elections and discarding votes in excess of the threshold needed by independent candidates to gain a seat.

Opponents of the proposed seat-allocation system in the bill

200 regional seats would be allocated for individual candidates and 200 for political parties said that it was biased in favour of political parties in terms of the number of votes required to get a seat and that all 400 National Assembly seats should be equally contested by independent candidates and political party candidates.

Those in favour of the bill on this issue say the provisions in the bill allow for continuation of the proportional representation system.

On discarded votes Makhode said, “There is no practical system of which we are aware that would avoid this ‘wasted’ votes issue.” He insisted that there is no unfairness in this and that those opposed to discarding votes have not offered an alternative solution.

Makhode said there was no way to hold by-elections when a seat is left vacant by an independent candidate the bill proposes for it to be left vacant until the next election as constantly holding by-elections would be impractical and become a strain on the fiscus.

On the number of signatures required for a candidate to qualify for election, Makhode said the Electoral Commission of SA will decide what number is reasonable when it makes regulations for an election. The commission will also set the nonrefundable deposit fee to be paid by independent candidates.

CONSTANTLY HOLDING BYELECTIONS WOULD BE IMPRACTICAL AND BECOME A STRAIN ON THE FISCUS, MAKHODE SAID

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2022-05-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

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