THE newly amended Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) signature requirements have been described as an opportunity to block emerging political parties and independent candidates from participating in the upcoming elections.
Leader of the African Amalgamated Restorative Movement (AARM) Bishop Marothi Mashashane, who filed an urgent motion to review the decision this week, said it was unfair discrimination to set these rules quickly. He said this was a reversal of the country’s hard-earned democracy.
Mashashane also said that he did not understand why the IEC allowed parliament to decide on the rules.
The IEC requires signatures amounting to 15% of the previous regional or provincial quota to obtain a seat, which is about 50 000 signatures, for new political parties to be able to qualify to contest in this year’s elections. Independent candidates would need 1 000 signatures.
The rule was passed in parliament last year.
However, the submission deadline for registration and the nomination list ended on Friday.
Mashashane said the IEC has allowed Parliament to be “referee and player” by implementing the rules. He said the Electoral Commission was also arrogant to go ahead, despite complaints over the registration process and the timetable set ahead of the national and provincial elections on May 29.
AARM is not the first political party to challenge the new Amendment Act in court. Last month, the Constitutional Court dismissed a challenge from the non-profit organisation Rivonia Circle and Mmusi Maimane’s Build One SA.
This was after the Constitutional Court found that it was not in the interest of justice to entertain the application, which was brought on an urgent basis in December last year.
The court highlighted that the Electoral Amendment Act was enacted eight months prior – in April – and said the applicants failed to show any justification for why they did not go to court earlier.
It further said that with President Cyril Ramaphosa now having proclaimed an election date, the court risked causing “disruptions and uncertainty” in the preparations if it entertained the application.
Mashashane, who was hoping the matter would be heard on Wednesday (March 6), said he was shown the same application and ruling, which “the court refused to adjudicate due to the time frame”.
Mashashane said it was clear that the court would not issue a date any time soon as the speaker of parliament, President and Minister of Home Affairs had to be cited.
In his court papers, Mashashane said the requirements should be declared irrational and set aside. He said this was because they were unfair in that it was not a general requirement to all parties and candidates that intend to contest the upcoming elections.
He said, instead, the requirements seem to be a barrier to the exclusion of the new parties to safeguard the status quo.
“These requirements give the existing political parties more time to campaign as the new ones are still running around to collect over 20 000 signatures, since the existing parties in parliament are excluded from the requirements, and this results in an unequal competition between the new parties and those already occupying the national assembly,” Mashashane said.
He said this also undermined the meaningful participation of independent candidates and emerging political parties because of the entry requirements. Registering as a new 15% of the quota for a seat is just a hindrance to the competition, he said.
“I submit that the elections are to be seen and treated as a reset for the new administration or governing powers and, therefore, the entry requirements must be fair and equal to all who want to contest, in the case of the new unrepresented parties and those already in parliament,” Mashashane said.
His sentiments were supported by Maimane, who also described the requirements, as being unfair to new parties during his announcement that his party had secured enough signatures to contest the elections.
Maimane announced this during a media briefing outside the IEC offices in Pretoria on Thursday.
“Between the government, the IEC and the Constitutional Court, many unnecessary, and some unjust, hurdles have been placed in our path. One of the more unfair hurdles has been the signature requirements for new entrants.
“Previously, a new party needed only 1 000 signatures of support to qualify to contest elections. However, the new Electoral Amendment Act has radically hiked this number in a sinister effort to stymie competition and political choice,” Maimane said.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za