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South Africa

F4SD wants SA citizens abroad to vote in municipal elections

───   07:54 Fri, 19 Jun 2020

F4SD wants SA citizens abroad to vote in municipal elections | News Article
F4SD leader Mbahare Kekana

The Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD) political party wants South Africans abroad to vote in local government elections, it said on Thursday.


Party leader, Mbahare Kekana, said F4SD had written to the portfolio committee on home affairs to make representations on the amendment of the electoral act.

The party made the move following a constitutional court ruling that declared sections of the act unconstitutional. The apex court called on parliament to amend the act within two years. 

Kekana said his party wanted voters to directly elect the president, mayors and speakers, and hold national and local elections on the same date. F4SD also wanted South Africans abroad to vote in local government elections; it also wants the abolition of district municipalities.

Kekana said the current voting system was costly and amounted to billions of rands per election. South Africa's national and provincial elections take place every five years, while municipal elections are held two years later. 

"Those funds can be channelled to service delivery. Top democracies around the world all conduct their elections on the same day. Nearer to home in Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique are conducting successful local and national elections on the same day," he said.

He said that in a report commissioned by parliament, compiled in 2003 by the late Dr Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert, it was proposed that the country adopt a mixed system that would ensure MPs were elected on party platforms, via multi-member constituencies.

"The report has gathered dust and it is time parliament implements the Van Zyl Slabbert recommendations," said Kekana.

On Tuesday, South Africa's electoral commission (IEC) said that holding a single general election for all spheres of government each five years, and electronic voting, was among the potential considerations for parliament. 

In a statement, IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said as required in law, the municipal elections would be proclaimed by the cooperative governance minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, after consultations with the electoral commission.

"It is with this understanding that media reports suggesting that the electoral commission has proposed the amalgamation of national, provincial and municipal elections into a single event are incorrect.

"Holding a single general election for all spheres of government each five years and electronic voting are among the potential considerations for parliament. Our stakeholders, including political parties, media and civil society are free to engage in the ensuing policy dialogue. These matters are not a prerogative of the electoral commission but require a collaborative effort and national consensus."


African News Agency (ANA)

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