Elections bill is now urgent, says minister
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has urged MPs to finalise changes in legislation governing elections urgently before parliament goes into recess on March 23. He said the amendments are needed for the local government elections to be held later this year. “If it is not finalised before parliament goes into recess we will be on very, very dangerous grounds in terms of preparations for the local government elections,” the minister warned on Tuesday at a meeting of parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee.
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has urged MPs to finalise changes in legislation governing elections urgently before parliament goes into recess on March 23.
He said the amendments are needed for local government elections to be held this year.
“If it is not finalised before parliament goes into recess we will be on very, very dangerous grounds in terms of preparations for the local government elections,” the minister warned on Tuesday at a meeting of parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee.
Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill will streamline registration of parties; deal with access to the voters roll; streamline and simplify the process of nominating candidates to stand for election; safeguard voting rights of voters registered on the voters roll without addresses; and clarify the period in which the electoral code of conduct is binding on parties and candidates.
The National Assembly passed the bill, but it was sent back to its home affairs portfolio committee as the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) adopted a version of the bill that differed from that adopted by the National Assembly. IEC deputy CEO Masego Shiburi briefed the committee on NCOP amendments to two clauses that tried to strike a balance between right of access to information and right to protection of personal information. IEC chair Glen Mashinini said the amendments were discussed with information regulator Pansy Tlakula.
Shiburi said the home affairs committee decided to delete a clause from the original bill that would have required the chief electoral officer to give unfettered access to the voters roll to protect individual privacy, but political parties would continue to have access to the roll.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
The NCOP’s select committee dealing with home affairs decided to reinstate this clause but limit right of access to those wanting to monitor the voters roll for election purposes; wanting access for statistical or research purposes; or for any other prescribed purpose. The amendment followed submissions that restricting access to the voters roll would impede the media and civil society organisations in performing their watchdog role in elections and would be unlawful.
In terms of the bill as amended by the NCOP the chief electoral officer will be obliged to provide a certified copy of or extract from a segment of the voters roll to anyone in specified categories who has paid the prescribed fee on condition that providing the information would not involve unlawful processing of personal information in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act. The act prescribes that only the minimum of information needed for a legitimate legal purpose can be provided. The NCOP also redrafted a section dealing with how much information the chief electoral officer may provide.
Certain information on the voters roll must be redacted to limit what is provided to the digits of the identity numbers of voters on the voters roll that indicate the voters’ date of birth and citizenship. Additional digits would be released only if needed in exceptional circumstances and providing that the information would not involve the unlawful processing of information in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act.
The NCOP bill states that any person using information obtained from the chief electoral officer for an unspecified purpose will be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine, up to a year in prison or both.
The NCOP inserted a clause to allow the IEC to prescribe a different voting procedure for municipal elections for voters whose names appear on the voters roll without addresses. The proviso is that if voters’ places of residence are outside the relevant ward or local, metropolitan or district municipality on whose segment of the voters roll their names appear, the voters may not vote in the associated elections.
Home affairs committee members expressed concern that providing access to the voters roll would open the door to abuse of personal information such as identity theft. The committee will deliberate on the bill on Friday. Chair Bongani Bongo indicated that the NCOP amendments would be adopted.