The president will not be directly elected and voters will still struggle to hold elected representatives accountable
The Constitutional Court ruled last week that the Electoral Act of 1998 is unconstitutional to the extent that it prevents individuals from contesting national and provincial elections. The court’s decision was met with excitement on social media and quickly led to speculation about which prominent South Africans might run for president in 2024. At last, it seemed voters would be able to hold elected representatives directly accountable to improve governance and service delivery.
SA’s political system has not changed. We still have a parliamentary system with a president elected by the National Assembly . Voters will thus be unable to directly elect the president in the next national election. A variety of electoral systems can be used to elect leaders in a parliamentary system. The court has given parliament two years to devise a new electoral system for SA’s general elections, which will next take place in 2024. Keeping with sections 46 and 105 of the constitution, which grant discretionary power to parliament to prescribe electoral systems, the court has not specified which system parliament must choose.
During the Convention for a Democratic SA negotiations, proportional representation was chosen to allow for maximum inclusivity of the diversity of the SA population and to enable minority parties to be represented in parliament. This was considered important for minimising instability and conflict in the immediate aftermath of apartheid. By allowing individuals to take part in national and provincial elections, the Constitutional Court judgment reduces the inclusiveness of our electoral system.
Parties that are already in parliament can be expected to try to influence the process to increase their chance of being re-elected in 2024. Changes to the Electoral Act may have implications for other legislation, including the Political Party Funding Act and the Municipal Demarcation Act, which may prolong the process.
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