The Independent Candidates Association (ICA) says the only way to seek justice, equality and dignity for Independent Candidates is to test the Electoral Amendment Act in its current form in the Constitutional Court.
The ICA and Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane announced at a media briefing in Cape Town that they will challenge the Act in the ConCourt.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Electoral Amendment Bill into law earlier this week.
The amended legislation makes provision for independent candidates to participate in the provincial and national elections.
Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga declared the Electoral Act unconstitutional during a successful court bid by the New Nation Movement in June 2020.
VIDEO | ConCourt judgment on the Act in 2020:
Almost three years later, the amendments to the act are heading back to the ConCourt.
Speaking to SABC News outside Parliament, ICA Chairperson Dr Michael Louis says the Electoral Amendment Act is unconstitutional and should also be tested.
“This goes about equality before the law. This goes about dignity. This is about the power of the vote. It’s the most important thing for our people. So, as a result, we believe that the Electoral Act as it’s now signed by the President is unconstitutional. It doesn’t fulfil the constitutional provisions in general proportionality. There is wasted votes. We believe the issue of vacancies, aggravation of votes. The system is wrong, you cannot put an individual against a political party. The system was wrong from the beginning, so we hope that we will get justice from the Constitutional Court, we believe that the only way we going to see justice in this nation that this Bill gets tested by the Constitutional Court that all of us know there’s credibility.”
“Civil society has been very strong in its opposition to the Bill and we warned the President that he is following a very dangerous cause, by signing this into act because unless you got a Bill that’s got credibility, the elections will not be credible,” Louis adds.
More possible ConCourt threats looming
Other civil society organisations have also threatened to challenge the constitutionality of the Electoral Amendment Act. These threats continued to unfold after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced that its first voter registration would take place in November this year. The tussle is about the allocation of seats, the number of signatures for independent candidates needed, and insufficient public participation during the processing of the Bill by Parliament.
June 2022 deadline
Parliament missed the first deadline of 10 June 2022. It could not process the Bill on time. The Bill was only introduced in Parliament in January 2022 by the Home Affairs Ministry. This left the National Legislature with five months to amend the Act. The National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs could only start nationwide public hearings in March 2022. However, the public participation process could not be finalised on time.
Extended deadlines
When the National Assembly could not finalise the Bill in time, Parliament successfully applied for an extension to process the Bill. It was granted a six-month extension of 10 December 2022.
After the Assembly’s passing of the Bill in October 2022, the NCOP only had over 40 days to process the Bill that was finalised by the other House. However, the NCOP’s Select Committee on Security and Justice received further submissions and amendments.
The NCOP passed the Bill towards the end of November last year with amendments that were sent back to the National Assembly.
The NCOP proposed what was described as substantial and material changes. This compelled the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs to conduct further public consultation on the Bill that was amended by the NCOP.
This prompted Parliament to ask for another extension of 28 February this year.
The proposed changes included the number of signatures of support needed for independent candidates to be included on the ballot papers.
Parliament subsequently invited the public to make submissions. Home Affairs was briefed by the Content Advisor at the beginning of February this year on the submissions received on the Bill.
PODCAST: Sakina Kamwendo speaks to Mercedes Besent on the submission:
The Bill was passed by the National Assembly towards the end of February 2023, a few days before the second and last extended ConCourt deadline. It was sent to Ramaphosa who has recently signed it into law.
The IEC briefed the media on Monday afternoon about the implementation of the Act and the new amendments. The commission also indicated that Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is expected to establish an Electoral Reform Consultation Panel within four months after the gazetting of the amendments in the Act.
VIDEO | IEC briefing on Electoral Amendment Act:
