Cape Town - Parliament has asked members of the public to make written submissions on the latest draft bill that provides for independent candidates to contest elections in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.
This comes after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) came up with material amendments that required public consultation when the Electoral Amendment Bill was brought to it for concurrence.
The National Assembly initially passed the bill in October, but could not pass it by the December 10 deadline after the NCOP made various amendments that sought to address concerns raised by parties and stakeholders during the public participation process.
The move prompted the home affairs portfolio committee to ask the National Assembly to request the Constitutional Court for the extension to finalise the Electoral Amendment Bill early this year.
Last Friday, the apex court granted Parliament’s request to further extend the deadline for the finalisation of the bill.
It agreed to further suspend its invalidity order of the Electoral Act from December 10, 2022, to February 28.
It was the second time the extension was granted after the bill could not be finalised by the initial June 10, 2022 deadline.
The bill is a sequel to a Constitutional Court judgment delivered in June 2020, which found the Electoral Act unconstitutional because it required candidates that stand for elections to be members of political parties.
Parliament was given 24 months to fix the defects in the law, but Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi only introduced it in Parliament in January 2022.
In a notice published in the government gazette, home affairs portfolio committee chairperson Mosa Chabane said calls for comment opened on December 6 and submissions must be received by no later than January 27.
Chabane said the written submissions must be limited to the NCOP proposed amendments.
“The NCOP has proposed material changes to the bill that the portfolio committee on home affairs consider important to re-advertise and ensure that stakeholders and interested parties have a chance to make comments on these new proposed amendments,” he said.
“Written submissions must be limited to the NCOP proposed amendments, and the Committee will not consider issues raised beyond this,” Chabane said.
In his notice, Chabane said the proposed amendments include one that will address the disparity between party candidates and independent candidates.
“The bill currently only requires independent candidates to produce signatures supporting their candidature totalling 20% of the quota for a seat in the previous comparable election.
“The proposed amendment now intends to provide that parties, who are registered but not represented in the National Assembly or provincial legislatures, will also have to produce the same amount of signatures in support of their party when intending to contest an election,” reads the notice.
It also said once the independent candidates and registered parties were represented in the National Assembly or provincial legislatures, they would be exempt from this requirement.
The notice also states that there were amendments that brought the wording and requirements imposed on independent candidates to be aligned with those now being imposed on parties.
There is also an amendment that will apply when an independent candidate must make a choice between either taking up a seat in the provincial legislature or the National Assembly.
The bill also proposes the establishment of an electoral reform consultation panel that must look into the country’s electoral system after the 2024 elections.
Those wishing to make written submissions can send them to [email protected] by no later than 4pm on Friday.
Cape Times