Partial election victory in apex court
• Easier for independents to run
The Constitutional Court handed independents a partial victory on Monday when it ruled that candidates only need 1,000 signatures or 15% of the people living in the region they are contesting to be eligible to run in the elections.
In a majority judgment, justice Jody Kollapen cautioned that the gains made in the Electoral Amendment Act, which for the first time allows independent candidates to contest elections, would be “hollow” if parliament put up barriers such as the quota system.
The apex court, however, dismissed an application by the Independent Candidates Association to have sections of the Electoral Amendment Act — which splits the vote for the 400 seats in the National Assembly into two equal parts: one drawn from votes cast in regional lists and 200 allocated from a national, compensatory list to meet proportional representation calculations — be declared unconstitutional.
The Independent Candidates Association proposed a different system that would allocate 350 seats based on regional lists and 50 seats based on national lists, arguing this would give independent candidates a fairer chance. However, the Constitutional Court dismissed the association’s case as “without merit”, with justice Nonkosi Mhlantla saying it did not “provide compelling evidence” that the 200/200 split infringed candidates’ rights.
She also emphasised that the split had been decided by parliament and the constitution gives parliament the right to decide how elections are run.
In next year’s election, voters will now receive a ballot paper specific to their region, which contains the names of both independent candidates and political parties.
SIGNATURE PORTAL
The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC), which has already spent 91% of its R3.8bn budget for this year, on Monday confirmed it will immediately put into place the necessary regulations to ensure it complies with the ruling reducing the threshold on signatures.
Shortly after the ruling was delivered, the elections body said it would launch a signature portal “soon”.
The commission “will now finalise adjustments to the signature requirements portal, so that prospective independent candidates and unrepresented parties can start collecting and capturing”, the IEC said.
It also said: “The Electoral Commission has always been of the view that the distribution of seats of the National Assembly
between the compensatory tier and the regional tier was rational and satisfied the constitutional requirement for general proportionality.”
The IEC had previously opposed the application to reduce the number of signatures required for independent candidates, saying that lowering the threshold to get on the ballot is likely to lead to frivolous participation. It argued that an excessively long ballot paper threatened the credibility of the elections. A two-page ballot paper would likely lead to problems such as ballot separation when voters add theirs to the ballot box or when ballots are removed for counting purposes, the IEC said.
Kollapen noted the purpose of the requirement was “to curtail the number of independent candidates that could stand for office … [thus preventing] frivolous contestation”.
‘NO EVIDENCE’
However, Kollapen said there was “no evidence” to suggest there will be a flood of frivolous candidates. “Candidates should not be disadvantaged by their choice not to associate with political parties,” Kollapen wrote.
Mmusi Maimane’s Build One SA (Bosa), which successfully challenged the signature requirement, said the ruling still favoured the status quo because “new entrants and independent candidates face an uphill battle”.
Bosa said: “Individuals will lose out on the proportional vote, which can only be captured by a political party.
“The process to bring about a new electoral system was manipulated by the ANC and supporting political parties in parliament. A strong, open system would weaken their power, and thus all had a vested interest in ensuring as little change as possible was effected. Parliament passed a law that makes it very difficult for independents and community organisations to stand alone and compete in elections.”
Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA, which was established in 2020 and has yet to contest national elections, said the judgment did not amend the requirements for parties not yet represented in the National Assembly.