The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has announced on Friday, July 23 that registration for the 2021 local government elections, scheduled from July 31, will be postponed until a date yet to be determined.
This follows the publication of the Moseneke Report wherein Justice Dikgang Moseneke and his team laid out their reasoning for recommending a postponement of local elections to a date no later than February 2022.
Moseneke’s goal was to determine whether the upcoming elections would be free and fair. “The Commission […] has undertaken to approach the Constitutional Court to seek a short postponement of the elections if it is not possible to hold free and fair elections in October of this year, considering the trajectory of the pandemic,” according to the report.
The Electoral Commission has launched online voter registration in mid-July, but Moseneke noted that, “While it’s hoped that online voter registration will boost registration, this can hardly be the only way in which eligible voters may place themselves on the voters roll. In-person registration is vital to avoid disenfranchising eligible voters who don’t have access to online platforms.
“Proponents of a postponement […] said that if scientific and medical grounds exist for local government elections to be held without placing lives at risk or threatening the health of the nation, then elections should proceed. However, if scientific and medical experts take the view that holding local government elections in October 2021 threatens lives and may spark a devastating fourth wave, then the elections must be postponed. At the core of this inquiry is the right to life, therefore the inquiry should be guided by medical science and health experts rather than political preferences of politicians.”
Moseneke concluded that, “Having considered all the submissions of stakeholders, applicable law, research on electoral practices during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the related science, we conclude that it is not reasonably possible or likely that the local government elections scheduled for the month of October 2021 will be held in a free and fair manner, as required by the peremptory provisions of the Constitution and related legislation. And we go further to find that the scheduled elections are likely to be free and fair if they were to be held not later than the end of the month of February 2022.”
The Commission explained their final decision, based on the Moseneke Report by stating that, “The Commission met to review and deliberate, and unanimously agreed to adopt the report,” and that the Commission resolved to seek judicial authorisation to hold the election outside of the constitutionally prescribed period and to immediately postpone registration to a later date.
“The current persisting high levels of Covid-19 infections and mortality in the country are matters considered for this decision to defer the voter registration weekend. Until a court of competent jurisdiction has determined the application for deferral, all other planned electoral activities will proceed.”
To check your current voter registrations status, or to register online please visit: https://registertovote.elections.org.za/Welcome.
