We need constituency-based polls
Municipal candidates must be accountable to the electorate
THERE is a view that the municipal or local level is the sphere of government closest to the electorate, the domain where communities “experience democracy”. According to the IEC, 200 parties and 61 014 candidates will be contesting next Wednesday’s municipal elections. “Universal adult suffrage, a national common voters’ roll, regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic government to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness” are founding principles of the 1996 constitution of South Africa, and the right of all citizens to vote is included in the Bill of Rights.
Since 1994 South Africa has held five general elections and four municipal elections. All were conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), an autonomous body established in terms of the constitution, and were declared free and fair. South Africa’s fifth municipal elections next week will be held under conditions significantly different from the previous polls.
The IEC’s impartiality is being questioned; some “criminals” feature on the ANC’s PR list (cynics would argue that this will soon become a prerequisite); and Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s shenanigans are being used to promote the ANC on the SABC.
Given the various corruption scandals, the ANC is likely to face stiff competition for the educated, middle-class urban vote. Some communities have violently rejected candidates imposed on them by the ruling party, and several ANC candidates have been murdered, especially in KZN.
In September 2013 there were by-elections in the Tlokwe area of Potchefstroom to elect new councillors as a result of resignations. The Constitutional Court ruled that eight of the by-elections were not free and fair. A major concern was a flawed voters’ roll, and independent candidates alleged that voters were being bused in from other areas by the ANC. Political candidates and opposition political parties raised objections with the IEC and the Electoral Court, which were ignored.
In September 2014 the chairwoman of the IEC, Pansy Tlakula, resigned as a result of a controversial leasing deal valued at R320 million In August 2013 public protector Thuli Madonsela found that Tlakula had violated procurement procedures in this deal. A similar finding was subsequently made by a forensic audit by the National Treasury.
The chairperson of the IEC represents the “symbol of our elections” and must have the highest integrity. Tlakula was replaced by Vuma Mashinini, previously deputy chief electoral officer at the IEC, who had also served as special projects adviser to Zuma.
The ANC secretary-general has conceded that at least 28 candidates who have criminal records or are facing serious charges, appeared on the party’s list.
He contended that the IEC would make a final ruling on this matter. However, the failure to detect and exclude those with criminal records reflects the failure of the ANC’s internal integrity committee. According to former ANC MPL Joe Jordan: “When you vet somebody you immediately pick up a record… you can’t place that person into a position of responsibility”.
Then there is the SABC’s Hlaudi Motsoeneng who wants 70% “good news” on TV, and banned the screening of violence and protest, because this was the main cause of mayhem and anarchy (aligned perfectly with the views of the apartheid government!).
Respect
In an affidavit, SABC economics editor Thandeka Gqubule said that at a workshop to discuss the public broadcaster’s election strategy, Motsoeneng warned them not to question President Zuma, and that they had “to respect him… I am in charge, you must adhere to my instruction. President Zuma is the president of the country. I do not regard him as ANC. You cannot treat him the same… We will give him more time. And you can question everyone except our president. We need to respect him. Especially you, SABC… Do not focus on negative stories… Reporters at the SABC do not know the world; when they report, they mislead listeners… I expect you all to align with my instruction”.
Initially defiant, Motsoeneng was forced to abide by the Icasa ruling that the ban on broadcast of violent protests must be rescinded.
It is common cause that all is not well in the ruling party. Regardless of his attempts to laugh it off, the Nkandla scandal and attempts by President Zuma to avoid compensating the state for non-security upgrades to his homestead has hurt the party. This has been compounded by Zuma’s attempts to avoid facing 783 corruption charges. Serious allegations of “state capture” by the Guptas add fuel to the fire.
Educated middle- class, urban voters of all races are angry, and pre-election surveys suggest that in the major metros (excluding eThekwini), the ANC faces the prospect of reduced majorities, if not a marginal loss. The possibility of coalitions emerging (Malema and Zuma sharing a bed!), should not be ruled out.
Local communities have reacted violently to municipal candidates being imposed upon them by the ANC. The most serious case was the outbreak of violence in June 2016 after the ANC’s announcement that Thoko Didiza was the mayoral candidate for the Tshwane metro. State Security Minister David Mahlobo subsequently acknowledged that dissatisfied ANC members had spurred the violence, which also involved opportunistic criminal elements. Tshwane SACP regional secretary said: “The ANC leadership in the media appears to be united, but they are the ones instigating the violence on the ground”.
In defiance, several former ANC members have resigned to stand as independent candidates, which has further fuelled conflict and tensions.
In KZN, 12 ANC municipal candidates have been murdered this year, attributed to intra-ANC conflict, and a headline questioned whether “electoral killings have become the new normal”? Professor Tinyiko Maluleke described these killings as “barbaric, anti-democratic and cowardly acts”, and contended that: “Democracies that are kept alive by the blood of citizens are oxymoronic. So are cannibalistic elections. How many more times must the poor ‘pay’, including paying with their own lives, so that we can boast about our rainbow nation and our wonderful constitution”?
The IEC also expressed “grave concern” about the politically motivated killings and violence: “Violence‚ intimidation‚ destruction of property and intolerance have no place in a country with a constitution based on respect for human right‚ the rule of law and democracy. That some of these acts are being carried out under the guise of ‘ defending democratic processes’ is all the more shameful and incongruent with our democracy”.
Sadly, the violence and killings will continue because the stakes are high, and elections are used as a conduit to loot state coffers for personal benefit. Kuseni Dlamini, of the national council of the South African Institute of International Affairs, believes that “the ethos of politics as a vocation serving the public must be made to prevail over narrow personal interests in using the state to accumulate wealth”.
A return to constituency-representation, where local communities participate in the selection of their local municipal candidates, whom they can hold accountable, would be a step in the right direction. This would require the ANC to give up its centrally controlling tentacles – a big ask?