Mbeki wants elections to be held in August. Picture: Nardus Engelbrecht/Independent Newspapers
Former president Thabo Mbeki has called for the elections to be held in August because the Electoral Amendment Bill was still entangled in a legal dispute in the Constitutional Court.
The court heard an application by Mmusi Maimane’s Build One South Africa (Bosa) and the Independent Candidate Association South Africa, who are challenging certain provisions of the law. The independent candidates argue that the playing fields were not levelled with political parties.
The apex court has not delivered a judgment on this application.
Mbeki said the fact there was still an ongoing court application, the elections should be held to August.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has not declared the date for the elections.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) was last weekend conducting its first voter registration campaign.
Almost 2.9 million voters were registered in 23,000 voting stations and online portals.
The IEC said this was one of the most successful voter registration weekends it has had.
Mbeki said that given the court challenge on the Electoral Amendment Bill, it would be appropriate not to have elections in the first half of the year.
He said the IEC would need direction from the court on how it would need to prepare for the elections.
“We are not quite sure when this process will be finalised because it has implications on the preparations of the Electoral Commission, which the Electoral Commission has been raising that ‘please move quickly on that so that we will have to do whatever arrangements in terms of the amended legislation.’
“The law is still not ready. I don’t know when the court processes will finish. Suppose they get finished in April, then the Electoral Commission would not have had the time to do whatever arrangements consistent with the new law,” said Mbeki.
The IEC has said it would wait for the court judgment.
Ramaphosa signed into law the Electoral Amendment Bill in April this year. The law will allow independent candidates to contest elections nationally and in provinces.
The law only allowed independent candidates polls at local level until the New Nation Movement went to the Constitutional Court to challenge the validity of the law.
It was amended in Parliament and for the first time next year independent candidates will contest for seats in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics