The ANC and the EFF have agreed on the proposed postponement of next year’s local government elections as proposed by the Electoral Committee of South Africa (IEC).<\/p>\n
The City Press reports that the two parties have also agreed that the country’s elections should be consolidated, with national, provincial and local government elections all held in the same year.<\/p>\n
“This pandemic has made it clear to us that we don’t need to have more than one election,” said EFF secretary-general Marshall Dlamini.<\/p>\n
“We are calling for the postponement of the local government elections to 2024 and it must be made permanent. We will make submissions to parliament regarding this.<\/p>\n
“An exception can be made to municipal elections; they can hold by-elections if a municipality is not functional,” he said.<\/p>\n
The African National Congress (ANC) is also considering a number of changes to South Africa\u2019s electoral process, says the party\u2019s secretary-general Ace Magashule.<\/p>\n
In a statement this week, Magashule said that the proposed changes come after the Electoral Court ordered the postponement of a number of municipal by-elections due to Covid-19 safety concerns.<\/p>\n
To help address these issues, the ANC\u2019s National Working Committee (NWC) discussed a range of responses to these and other challenges impacting South Africa\u2019s electoral system, Magashule said.<\/p>\n
Some of the proposals include:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NWC discussed these proposals in the context of strengthening the accountability of responsiveness of democratic institutions and the building of a more effective and capable development state,\u201d said Magashule.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this regard, the NWC also considered the impact of the electoral system on the strengthening of the district development model seeking to align planning, budgeting, and implementation across national, provincial and local spheres of government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Magashule noted that these matters will require wide-spread consultation and debate in society, including other political parties.<\/p>\n