The FW de Klerk Foundation Attends Electoral Reform Consultation Panel’s Conference

Issued by Daniela Ellerbeck on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation:

The FW de Klerk Foundation is attending the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel’s conference on why, how and whether South Africa’s present 100% Proportional Representation (“PR”) electoral system should be reformed, changed, or even replaced. The Foundation repeatedly pointed out to the Panel that electoral reform is both justified and necessary, because the current PR system fails to meet all of the Constitution’s requirements – specifically, the requirements of accountability, responsiveness and openness.

“The Foundation has participated in the Panel’s public engagements on this important topic from the get go, making both written submission and oral submissions to the Panel, as well as meeting with the Panel,” says Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programmes Manager. “The Foundation supports a mixed-member proportional system with 250 single-member constituencies and 150 PR seats. This system ensures both direct links between voters and the candidates running for that constituency’s seat and overall proportionality. It allows independent candidates to compete fairly with political parties and enables voters to recall underperforming officials, increasing accountability and trust in the democratic system, which should boost voter turnout,” explains Ellerbeck.

“The Conference follows the Panel’s public engagements which took place over a five-month period,” says Shanees Nkandu, an intern at the Foundation. “The Panel highlighted that the public told them that, as voters, they feel powerless to hold elected representatives accountable. Elected representatives are experienced as being more accountable to their respective political parties than to the voters. The public time and again told the Panel that the current system is party centric and disempowers the voters,” concludes Nkandu.

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Lindiwe Sisulu: {2009 – 2014} Lindiwe Sisulu also served as Minister of Housing from 2004 to
2009 before the title changed to Minister of Human Settlements. Her focus was on addressing the housing backlog and improving living conditions for South Africans.