Civil society ‘deeply disappointed’ by electoral reform panel line-up
Eighteen civil society organisations have expressed concern that some members of electoral reform consultation panel approved by the National Assembly last week lack the necessary independence and open-mindedness for the task.
The members of the panel were selected by home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi in consultation with the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) and endorsed by parliament’s home affairs committee.
The panel will investigate alternative electoral systems and propose reforms before the 2029 national and provincial elections. Its establishment was provided for in the Electoral Amendment Act, which made legal provision for the inclusion of independent candidates in the election.
The civil society organisations which include the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution, My Vote Counts, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, the Rivonia Circle and Defend our Democracy also noted in a statement that the list of panel members lacked adequate civil society representation.
Three of the nine-member panel Pansy Tlakula, Michael Sutcliffe and Norman du Plessis
were members of the ministerial advisory panel on electoral reform under chair Valli Moosa who supported the minority report, which recommended limited reforms to the electoral system to accommodate independent candidates. This was accepted by Motsoaledi. The majority report recommended a constituency-based system with proportional elements.
“It is deeply disappointing that individuals who have shown an unwillingness to engage on electoral reform with an open mind are being brought in yet again,” the organisations said.
“This is despite one of the additional criteria adopted in consultations between the IEC and the minister being ‘people who demonstrated a willingness to explore options and solutions rather than hold fixed views in relation to democratic systems and electoral systems’. We therefore question the motivation behind their selection.”
The organisations also noted that the panel included past or current members of the IEC or former civil servants.
The other members are lawyer and senior lecturer Mmatsie Mooki; capacity development adviser and previous IEC employee Tomsie Dlamini; academic, lawyer and previous civil servant Richard Sizani; current IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo; former IEC senior manager Michael Hendrickse; and academic and researcher Albertus Schoeman.
The organisations said they did not believe the panel “represents the spectrum of necessary skills, experience and independence needed to conduct the urgent quest for electoral reform.
“We recommend that the next parliament reviews the composition of the panel to enable the electoral reform process to win the trust of the country. Without the necessary trust, it may well be another exercise in futility.”
In November the home affairs committee rejected Motsoaledi’s proposed list of nominees because it was insufficiently representative. It said another request for nominees had to be issued. A total of 32 nominees were received in response to various requests for nominations.
The civil society organisations said the rejected list “included highly skilled individuals from within civil society whose organisations have been researching and engaging on the issue of electoral reform for an extended period of time.
“For the 2029 national and provincial government elections, we want an electoral system that serves the best interests of the public.”
Opposition parties have expressed similar objections to the panel members. DA MP Adrian Roos said the list lacked diversity and was dominated by former government and IEC employees. There was no civil society voice among the nominees, some of whom lacked election experience.
IFP MP Liezl van der Merwe objected to the lack of representation of women and youth on the panel.
THE ORGANISATIONS DO NOT BELIEVE THE PANEL REPRESENTS THE SPECTRUM OF NECESSARY SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND INDEPENDENCE