The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is considering a new amendment to the Electoral Amendment Bill, that a panel be established to investigate, consult and make recommendations in respect of potential electoral reforms.
CAPE TOWN - Plans are afoot to compel the Home Affairs minister to review the country’s electoral system.This as Parliament is finalising a bill that will make it possible for independent candidates to run for a parliamentary or provincial legislature seat in the 2024 elections.
According to a proposal tabled by the Home Affairs minister before Parliament on Monday, a panel of nine election and constitutional law experts will have to be appointed within four months of the Electoral Amendment Bill becoming law.While there won’t be enough time for the panel to make recommendations that could lead to changes in the country’s electoral system before the 2024 elections, by then, however, the research should already have started.
Legal advisor for the Home Affairs Department, Advocate Steven Budlender, explains: "The power to determine the electoral system rests with Parliament. Parliament can’t outsource that to a panel. The purpose of this panel is not to decide on what election reform should take place. It’s to advise Parliament so that Parliament can exercise its powers."
However, any reforms proposed will only be considered by a new Parliament after the 2024 elections, once the new provisions for the participation of independent candidates have been tested.
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