MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Submissions sought on reform of the electoral system

Submissions sought on reform of the electoral system

Submissions sought on reform of the electoral system

The Electoral Reform Consultation Panel has extended its call for submissions from the public and organisations (including political parties or prospective independent candidates) on the reform of the electoral system for the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures to 31 October 2024.

Section 23 of the Electoral Amendment Act of 2023 provided for the establishment of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel (ERCP) “to independently investigate, consult on, report on and make recommendations in respect of potential reforms of the electoral system for the election of the National Assembly and the election of the Provincial Legislatures, in respect of the elections to be held after the 2024 Elections”.

These recommendations are for the 2029 National and Provincial Elections.

South Africa’s electoral system for National and Provincial Elections is derived from the Electoral Act of 1998, as recently amended by the Electoral Amendment Act of 2023, to allow for the inclusion of independent candidates. 

Successive South African elections since 1994 have used a party list proportional representation electoral system, in terms of which members of the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures are elected from the lists submitted by political parties to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The National Assembly in May 2024 approved the appointment of nine experts in the fields of academia, law, governance and election administration to undertake the process of consultation and produce a report with recommendations of possible electoral systems by 31 May 2025.

The  Electoral Reform Consultation Panel has adopted an initial six guiding principles for evaluating proposed electoral systems for South Africa. 

These principles draw on the country’s founding values set out in section 1 of the Constitution to establish a multi-party system of democratic government, based on accountability, responsiveness and openness to uphold values of human dignity, non-racialism, non-sexism, and the achievement of equality.

The six guiding principles are: inclusivity, fairness, accountability, simplicity, electoral manageability and transparency.

“As part of its function to consult and its duty to conduct a public participation process on its work, the ERCP hereby invites members of the public to make written submissions for its consideration,” the panel said in a statement.

The panel will also hold extensive public consultations, which will later lead up to the production of a report, which must be submitted to the Minister of Home Affairs by 31 May 2025 and be tabled before Parliament within 30 days for its consideration.

“The ERCP respectfully calls and requests members of the public, as individuals or through organisations to which they belong, to make submissions on why, how and whether the current South African electoral system should be reformed, changed or even replaced with another one,” the panel said.

The period for written submissions has been extended to 31 October 2024.

All the submissions should be addressed to Advocate Richard K Sizani, the Chairperson of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel and may be forwarded in any of the following ways:

1. Delivered by hand to House 1, Ministry of Home Affairs, 909 Arcadia Street, Hatfield, Pretoria.

2. Delivered by hand to the nearest Home Affairs office.

3. Mailed to Electoral Reform Consultation Panel at Private Bag X114, Pretoria, 0001.

4. Emailed to ERCP@dha.gov.za.

The public may follow the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel on social media on the following handles:

https://x.com/Electoral_RCP and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564445482964. 

Any enquiries should be directed to:

Adv. Richard K Sizani

Chairperson of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel

Cellphone number 082 904 9907. – SAnews.gov.za

Edwin
Tue, 10/01/2024 – 09:59

50 views

The Electoral Reform Consultation Panel has extended its call for submissions from the public and organisations (including political parties or prospective independent candidates) on the reform of the electoral system for the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures to 31 October 2024.

Section 23 of the Electoral Amendment Act of 2023 provided for the establishment of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel (ERCP) “to independently investigate, consult on, report on and make recommendations in respect of potential reforms of the electoral system for the election of the National Assembly and the election of the Provincial Legislatures, in respect of the elections to be held after the 2024 Elections”.

These recommendations are for the 2029 National and Provincial Elections.

South Africa’s electoral system for National and Provincial Elections is derived from the Electoral Act of 1998, as recently amended by the Electoral Amendment Act of 2023, to allow for the inclusion of independent candidates. 

Successive South African elections since 1994 have used a party list proportional representation electoral system, in terms of which members of the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures are elected from the lists submitted by political parties to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The National Assembly in May 2024 approved the appointment of nine experts in the fields of academia, law, governance and election administration to undertake the process of consultation and produce a report with recommendations of possible electoral systems by 31 May 2025.

The  Electoral Reform Consultation Panel has adopted an initial six guiding principles for evaluating proposed electoral systems for South Africa. 

These principles draw on the country’s founding values set out in section 1 of the Constitution to establish a multi-party system of democratic government, based on accountability, responsiveness and openness to uphold values of human dignity, non-racialism, non-sexism, and the achievement of equality.

The six guiding principles are: inclusivity, fairness, accountability, simplicity, electoral manageability and transparency.

“As part of its function to consult and its duty to conduct a public participation process on its work, the ERCP hereby invites members of the public to make written submissions for its consideration,” the panel said in a statement.

The panel will also hold extensive public consultations, which will later lead up to the production of a report, which must be submitted to the Minister of Home Affairs by 31 May 2025 and be tabled before Parliament within 30 days for its consideration.

“The ERCP respectfully calls and requests members of the public, as individuals or through organisations to which they belong, to make submissions on why, how and whether the current South African electoral system should be reformed, changed or even replaced with another one,” the panel said.

The period for written submissions has been extended to 31 October 2024.

All the submissions should be addressed to Advocate Richard K Sizani, the Chairperson of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel and may be forwarded in any of the following ways:

1. Delivered by hand to House 1, Ministry of Home Affairs, 909 Arcadia Street, Hatfield, Pretoria.

2. Delivered by hand to the nearest Home Affairs office.

3. Mailed to Electoral Reform Consultation Panel at Private Bag X114, Pretoria, 0001.

4. Emailed to ERCP@dha.gov.za.

The public may follow the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel on social media on the following handles:

https://x.com/Electoral_RCP and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564445482964. 

Any enquiries should be directed to:

Adv. Richard K Sizani

Chairperson of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel

Cellphone number 082 904 9907. – SAnews.gov.za

Watch a Submissions sought on reform of the electoral system related video:

Stunning South Africa:

https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/We-shouldnt-have-to-reinvent-the-wheel-for-every-election.jpg

Have you visited MyPR?

MyPR.co.za offers free to publish press releases for your news site, blog or offline publication. Use the handy REPUBLISH facility or the Full Text RSS Feeds or just copy and paste.

Straton Electrical | Straton Solar | Straton Prepaid | Straton Plumbing | Straton IoT | Straton eBikes | BA Systems | Mbane Contracting | Reach Trust

Category: Tag: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Fun South African fact

    Dear Editor Fun South African fact: towns like Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are home to world-class wine farms set in stunning, scenic surroundings. Regards Aressa Smith In Response to/From: Luxury Properties Seized in New Lottery Crackdown

  • Condolences on the Passing of Lusanda Dumke

    Statement by Leander Kruger MPL – DA Buffalo City Constituency Leader: The Democratic Alliance in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality mourns the passing of Springbok Women’s rugby player and Mdantsane trailblazer, Lusanda Dumke, who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 28. South Africa has lost an exceptional athlete, a leader, and a source…

  • Rape Kits Delivered, But…

    Statement by Nicholas Gotsell MP – DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice: The DA can confirm that 2 840 rape kits arrived in Cape Town on Monday, following sustained DA oversight and pressure after multiple police stations across the Western Cape were found to be without this critical forensic evidence tool. While this delivery…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fun South African Fact: Lions, elephants and giraffes may not roam the city streets, but nature and animals are never too far away in South Africa. From vervet monkeys swinging through tree-lined streets in the suburbs and baboons frolicking around Cape Point to seals visiting the Hout Bay harbour in search of a fishy snack and an array of bird species taking to the sky at any given moment. Wildlife is all around!

  2. Fun South African Fact: What about beer? South African brewery SABMiller ranks – by volume – as the largest brewing company in the world. Saffers love their beer…but the real reason the brewery is so big? SABMiller also supplies up to 50% of China’s beer.