How SA’s electoral system ‘is stacked against independents’

Of the 11 independent candidates that stood for election, not one managed to win a seat in the 400-member National Assembly. Critics say illustrates that the electoral system is stacked against them and needs to change. 

They say only a constituency-based electoral system will give independent candidates a fair chance to be elected. The Constitutional Court has ruled that the electoral system has to provide for the inclusion of independent candidates in national and provincial elections. 

Independent candidate activist, Zackie Achmat, campaigned vigorously in Cape Town and won about 11,000 of the more than 1,5-million votes cast in the Western Cape for the National Assembly.

Achmat spent R12m on his campaign and on building long-lasting social movements, but said it was impossible to contest against a multitude of political parties in a province-wide election under the current system.   

No independent candidate would have the financial, logistical and human resources to mount such a campaign, he said in an interview. Only a constituency-based electoral system would be feasible for independent candidates who could campaign among their own grassroots base. Achmat emphasised the need for electoral reform. 

Another hurdle identified by Achmat was the absence of a political culture favourable to independent candidates. Voters were sceptical that independent representatives could bring about real change, though he said this view was incorrect. Because the Electoral Laws Amendment Act was passed so late after a long delay, there was insufficient time for public education programmes on the new system, he said.

Independent Candidates Association founder Michael Louis pointed out that in terms of the seat calculation method included in the act, independent candidates are required to get about double the 40,000 votes required of political parties to win a seat in the National Assembly.

Also, the financial resources required of independent candidates to run a successful campaign was too onerous, he said.

Another point Louis made was that unlike a circumscribed constituency where an independent candidate would be in a contest against individual candidates of political parties, in the current system an independent candidate has to canvass for votes throughout a province, competing against political parties with far greater financial resources. 

“We always said the provincial system would never work because it’s just impossible for independent candidates to qualify. This is only possible in constituencies,” Louis said. 

“I think this election result was the best thing that could happen for independent candidates, because it has proven that the system is not in line for independent candidates to qualify.” 

Louis is pinning his hopes on a new home affairs minister in the government of national unity reviewing the composition of the electoral reform consultation panel chosen by former minister Aaron Motsoaledi, which was opposed by opposition parties and pushed through the National Assembly by a majority ANC vote. 

Louis said that three members of the chosen panel were members of the ministerial advisory committee on electoral reform, chaired by former constitutional development minister Valli Moosa. They opposed a constituency-based system recommended in the committee’s majority report and submitted a minority report that only supported tweaks to the then existing system to accommodate independent candidates. So they had predetermined views. 

The nine-member panel also includes past and present members of the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC). Its task is to recommend an electoral system ahead of the 2029 elections. 

“The electoral panel is going to be very important,” Louis said. “I definitely think it will be reconstituted. It has no credibility.” 

Elections expert Michael Atkins noted that because of long delays in getting legal certainty about the electoral system that would prevail in the elections, independent candidates did not have enough time to organise their election campaigns. The method of seat calculation and the number of votes required also worked against them, he said.

Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane said one of the reasons for establishing his political party was that it was clear that the system for independent candidates was unworkable for anyone who was not within a party formation. He also supports a constituency-based system to enhance the accountability of politicians.

“We have to amend the Electoral Act further to achieve this,” Maimane said. 

ensorl@businesslive.co.za