IEC seeks clarity on section 47 quagmire
THE decision of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to appeal the judgment of the Electoral Court, which sought for former president Jacob Zuma to remain on the ballot and list of the MK Party, got people’s tongue wagging recently.
While some believe the IEC was well within its rights to seek clarity from the Constitutional Court, others see the commission’s decision as being partisan, arguing that the IEC couldn’t be overruling the Electoral Court’s decision as it was the last arbiter.
The matter between the MKP and IEC is peculiar in that it stands to set a precedent in what or who qualifies to stand as candidate for national elections.
While some hold a strong belief that the IEC’s decision was based on impropriety, others say it has not shown any sign of impropriety in the commissioners expressing their view on the legal interpretation.
The argument many were putting forward was that the decision of whether to appeal was not discretionary, which left no room for the question of bias. This meant the issue of electoral integrity results must be accurate and fair. With this being said, the IEC needed to interpret the law as it saw fit. Accordingly, the decision to appeal the Electoral Court’s judgment did not come lightly for the IEC, as it stemmed from how it understood its mandate under the law.
The commission’s failure to explore all legal avenues on the matter would have been absurd following the Electoral Act which was specific to the objection process.
One would, therefore, conclude that from the IEC’s point of view, the ruling had consequences that would affect the freeness and fairness of elections, and contribute towards conditions where the electoral process was needlessly brought into disrepute.
Retired justice and former
IEC chairperson Johann Kriegler reiterates the commission’s rights as those of making sure the elections were run fairly, freely and in an orderly manner under the applicable laws.
He said the Constitution created the electoral commission, and the electoral act gave it certain powers, obligations and responsibilities.