Government

South Africa’s new election laws are now in effect

Luke Fraser

 ·22 Jun 2023

The Electoral Amendment Act of 2023 is now fully operational after being signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in April this year.

In a gazette published by the Department of Home Affairs on Thursday (22 June 2023), the President determined 19 June 2023 as the commencement date for the new regulations.

The main amendment of the electoral act allows for the inclusion and nomination of independent candidates for roles in the National Assembly and provincial legislature.

A previous judgement in the matter of New Nation Movement NPC and the Vice President of the Republic of South Africa & others said that the Electoral Act of 1998 was unconstitutional for stipulating that those running for National Assembly and provincial legislatures had to be members of a political party.

Other changes to the law include:

• The requirements which must be met by persons who wish to be nominated as independent candidates;
• The inspection of copies of lists of independent candidates and accompanying documents;
• Provision for objections to independent candidates;
• The inclusion of a list of independent candidates entitled to contest elections;
• Requirement for the appointment of agents by independent candidates;
• Obligation for independent candidates to abide by the Electoral Code of Conduct;
• A revised formula for the allocation of seats and their re-allocation in the event of vacated seats; and
• Stipulation for the Minister to establish the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel.

“The Electoral Amendment Bill marks a significant milestone in the evolution of our democracy by expanding electoral participation and widening the pool of leadership choice for the National Assembly and provincial legislatures. The bill presents a development that can only enrich and sustain our growing constitutional democracy,” the President previously said.

Criticisms

However, civil society groups have questioned the constitutional validity of the new amendments.

Outa’s Rachel Fischer said that some of the concerns relating to the new act include the following:

• Proportionality will be affected due to the three-ballot system – two ballots for the National Assembly and one ballot for the relevant provincial legislature.
• The fact that independent candidates can only contest 200 seats in the National Assembly and not the other 200 compensatory seats
• All the wasted votes that will occur
• Independent candidates can only win one seat in the National Assembly once votes equal to the seat quota are met. All excess votes are discarded.
• Solutions for vacancies due to the resignation or passing of an MP are not clear

The group also added that there are still other headwinds for candidates who want to run for parliament.

“For instance, independents require signatures equal to 15% of the quota of votes required for a seat in the previous elections in order to qualify for the election, which is roughly 6,000 signatures,” said Outa.

Solidarity, Build One South African, and the Legal Resources Centre have joined OUTA in calling the bill unfair and unjust.

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