Elections are the lifeblood of our constitutional order, giving sustenance to the allocation of powers and responsibilities to institutions of governance, especially the legislature and the executive. Yet it is those two institutions that have failed us...
The National Assembly, having operated with a handbrake on for two years, is now fast-tracking the passage of the Electoral Amendment Bill to meet the new deadline granted by the Constitutional Court last month.
Chief Justice Zondo has laid bare before the nation the extent of this accountability deficit and how it has undermined other fundamental constitutional principles. The minority was in favour of what is euphemistically called the “minimalist” option, which simply seeks to permit independent candidates to contest elections under the current pure proportional representation list model. It seeks to do as little as possible to change the system while hoping that it will satisfy the court’s judgment – what one may call malicious compliance.There is no similar model anywhere in the world, and the world has many, many different electoral models.
The bill was only introduced in Parliament in January this year, six months before the deadline, leaving little time for meaningful public engagement. The IEC had, in August 2020, told the Home Affairs Committee that if a constituency-based system is to be introduced, the necessary legislation would need to be in place by October 2021. That ship has sailed, for now. If a constituency system is to be considered, as it should be, that will not be possible for 2024.The bill, largely in its current form, gets passed by Parliament.
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