THE Democratic Alliance (DA) says Local Government Elections should go ahead in October as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year.
Various political parties made oral submissions on Friday to the inquiry studying the feasibility of South Africa holding local government elections in October urged the Electoral Commission (IEC) not to postpone the vote but to rather have stringent measures in place to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The DA made its oral submissions at the weekend to the Moseneke Inquiry in support of the Local Government Elections in October while the Economic Freedom Fighters said in its submission that elections should be postponed because they will not be free and fair if held in October.
The IEC appointed Judge Dikgang Moseneke to prepare a report in terms of Section 14(4) of the Electoral Commission Act. The Inquiry was established to make findings and recommendations on whether the IEC would be able to ensure a free and fair 2021 LGE.
The DA says the decision by the IEC, as a Constitutional body operating in a Constitutional democracy, to investigate whether it is likely or not to ensure a free and fair election, should never have been made on the grounds that some political parties hold the view that the election should not take place within the Constitutionally prescribed timeframe.
“The decision by the IEC to formalise this process is at best ill-advised, and at worst a failure on the part of the Commission to uphold its own independence and the requirement to not treat some political parties differently to others,” the party said in its submission.
“Furthermore, any process to entertain arguments that are in contradiction to Constitutional provisions which obligates the IEC to arrange the elections to take place on/before 1 November 2021, must be viewed as questionable Constitutional conduct.”
The DA says that it is of the view that many political parties who argue for a postponement of the 2021 LGE have, in as many words, admitted that a major reason for their position is their own state of unpreparedness for the elections.
The election timetable is a regulatory mechanism to ensure free and fair elections, argues the DA.
It cannot and should not be changed based on the readiness of a party to contest in an election.
“Protestations of political parties that the LGE should be postponed because it will lead to the infection and death of many South Africans are irresponsible and emotional. These statements are unfounded in light of the various by-elections which took place since the start of the State of Disaster,” said the DA.
“While scepticism exists around the Covid-19 protocols and turnout had been lower than the average turnout in the 2016 LGE, this is not indicative of any general intention on the part of the electorate not to vote in the 2021 LGE because of the Covid pandemic.”
- Inside Politics
