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Electoral Reform Is Justified and Necessary

The FW de Klerk Foundation made a written submission to the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel in response to the Panel’s invitation for comments on why, how and whether South Africa’s present electoral system should be reformed, changed, or even replaced.

The post THE FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION BELIEVES ELECTORAL REFORM IS JUSTIFIED AND NECESSARY appeared first on FW de Klerk Foundation.

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

Today, the FW de Klerk Foundation made a written submission to the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel. The submission was in response to the Panel’s invitation for comments on why, how and whether South Africa’s present electoral system should be reformed, changed, or even replaced.

“The Foundation pointed out to the Panel that the current electoral system fails to meet all of the Constitution’s requirements. Specifically, it fails to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness,” says Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programmes Manager. “It also fails to meet four out of the Panel’s six guiding principles for an electoral system. For this reason, changing how South Africa elects those in our national and provincial parliaments is both justified and necessary,” explained Ellerbeck.

Besides meeting the Constitution’s requirements, the Foundation submitted that the new electoral system must also help to prevent state capture from ever reoccurring and must cause elected officials to be more accountable and responsive to the public. It must also build public trust and increase voter turnout. Lastly, it must also create a level playing field between independent candidates and political parties.

“For these reasons the Foundation supports a mixed-member proportional system with 250 seats (of Parliament’s 400) being from single-member constituencies. This will allow voters to have a direct link to their constituency’s candidates running for a seat in Parliament. Simultaneously, voters will be able to recall underperforming elected officials. This will increase accountability and responsiveness, resulting in the public’s trust being restored in the democratic system, which, in turn, will increase voter turnout,” states Ellerbeck.

The Foundation believes such an electoral system will also…continue reading this article HERE.

 

Patrick Mvelasi: {1994 – 1999} Patrick Mvelasi was the first Minister of Science and Technology in post-
apartheid South Africa, serving from 1994 to 1999. He played a key role in laying the foundations for the development of
the science and technology sector in the new democratic government, advocating for increased investment in research
and education.

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