Election is a chance for direct democracy

Independent candidates can register as a conglomerate to benefit from the proportional representation vote

Imost n the buildup’to citizens minds the local is naturally government who they elections on November 1 the question on should vote for. This time the answer is complicated by a big political party system that has discredited itself, with the system of state capture by political parties fully in place. This election provides us with an opportunity to change not just the colours of the governing political party, but the entire system. Here’s how. In his 2018 book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, author Anand Giridharadas argues convincingly that once an individual or grouping is in power and on the “inside track”, they rarely seek change that would undermine their position of power. Instead, they work to keep self-serving systems in place, using power and devious public persuasion tactics. There is little incentive to change anything, even when a system is dysfunctional.

This was demonstrated in the SA context last week when the ANC took a significant decision that would keep intact the tight stranglehold political parties have on our country and its people for the foreseeable future. In effect, the party’s national executive committee decided to interpret the recent Constitutional Court ruling on electoral reform in an ultraconservative manner — doing the bare minimum by choosing to simply tweak and tinker with the current system rather than finally reforming and improving it.

Why is this important? Why should we care? Because if we want to change the downward trajectory of our country what is required is reform of the way in which we choose our public representatives in government. If we don’t ensure politicians are more accountable and more accessible to communities and voters, the current failing system will continue, to the detriment of all.

The Constitutional Court began the process when it ruled in the New Nation Movement case of June 2020 that our electoral law as it stands is unconstitutional as it forces citizens to become part of a political party if they seek to be elected into government. The court ordered parliament to change the law within two years to make it conform with the constitution.

This was the most significant step towards meaningful electoral reform in SA since former president Nelson Mandela’s pronouncements on the matter before parliament in 1999. Since then, the Van Zyl Slabbert commission, MP Pregs Govender’s 2006 election reform report to parliament, former president Kgalema Motlanthe’s high-level panel report, and a ministerial advisory committee under the leadership of Valli Moosa have all found that a mixed constituency and list system similar to that used at local government level is the preferred model.

PERPETUATING DOMINANCE

The ANC has acted against the spirit of the Constitutional Court ruling and these numerous preceding reports by acting in the interests of those on the inside track and those who benefit from the status quo. And I’m not only referring to the ANC as beneficiaries but all political parties, particularly the big three — the ANC, DA and EFF. Instead of allowing independents and citizen-led organisations to compete on an equal footing in every constituency, constituency-based elections have been rejected. All that will change, if the ANC gets its way, is that independent candidates will be added to the ballot paper — a sure way to perpetuate political party dominance.

The question to ask is, what comes after the ANC? Another political party? This solves nothing. We must dispel this make-believe idea that an alternative political party will magically emerge, ready to govern. Even the ANC, when entering office in 1994, had no governance experience. It had loyalty politics, ideology and struggle credentials. Think of the likes of Trevor Manuel, Tito Mboweni and Joel Netshitenzhe.

This party-political model has not worked in SA to date, and it will not work in the future, because there is no perfect government within one political party. Instead, thinking about an alternative as espoused by the Constitutional Court in 2020 is where our greatest thinkers and reformers ought to focus.

The One South Africa Movement’s “section 15A model” being piloted in the 2021 local government elections is one alternative. Section 15A of the Electoral Commission Act of 1996 allows an organisation or movement to participate in municipal elections in a specific municipality without being registered as a traditional political party with political party structures. Using this provision, municipal residents can prepare for independent candidates to stand for election in various wards, while also registering as a conglomerate of independent candidates to gain the benefit of the proportional representation vote. There are now 966 independent candidates registered and more than 100 community forums across SA.

This provides a direct democracy option, as voters can elect candidates who are on the ground and know the specific issues facing their community while not being tied to the party line. Party candidates are often the best politicians, not necessarily the most appropriate and competent people. Moreover, such an approach allows qualified and competent people from all sectors of society to run for office, it stops majoritarianism and party capture, and it capacitates the bureaucracy.

Creating a system that allows independents to work together in pursuit of shared national goals can drive reform. As it stands, local government is well regulated and relies less on ideology and more on implementation. A competent bureaucracy can work in planning and execution of budget and integrated development plans that deliver services to all.

The unavoidable truth is that SA urgently requires a new, credible alternative, and that cannot and will not be another political party. Instead, we need a cohort of the best minds and implementers united by values and pragmatism rather than ideology, and focused on the future. Change will never be voluntarily given by those on the inside; it must be demanded and fought for by those on the outside.

Politicians have hijacked social and political change and made it serve them, at the expense of the general populace. The net consequence is that the interests and concerns of citizens become incidental to their jobs, instead of being the sole focus. This needs urgent, wholesale change.

If the ANC chooses to undermine meaningful, citizen-focused electoral reform, the One South Africa Movement will not hesitate to return to the Constitutional Court to ensure the spirit and purport of its ruling is adopted by parliament.