The Western Cape High Court has issued new directives governing the election process for the Mowbray Cemetery Board ahead of the Special General Meeting scheduled for 23 August. The ruling clarifies how nominations and elections must be conducted, while reaffirming the 1948 Constitution as the primary framework for the process.
Muslim Views reporter Anwar Omar said the directives followed concerns raised about the independent panel’s call for nominations.
“Last Friday the panel issued a call for nominations for board membership. We compared it with the 1948 Constitution, which is the founding constitution on which the judge based the original judgment, and we found that at least four of those criteria didn’t match the provisions of the Constitution,” Omar explained.
One of the key issues was the direct election of office-bearers. Omar said the panel’s process allowed members to vote directly for positions such as chairperson, secretary and treasurer.
“The Constitution clearly stipulates a two-phase process whereby members vote for the board, but not officials. The board amongst themselves then elects those officials,” he said.
The court agreed that the two-phase process set out in the Constitution must be followed.
The judge also upheld the panel’s decision to require only one nominator for each candidate, rather than the three signatures stipulated in the Constitution, saying the process should not be unnecessarily exclusionary.
Omar said the court further ruled that the panel’s preferred candidate profile, including requirements relating to years of experience and Islamic knowledge, cannot be used to disqualify nominees.
“It cannot be used as an exclusionary criterion,” he said.
Similarly, listed areas of expertise may be considered when shaping a balanced board but cannot prevent anyone from standing for election.
“You have ordinary people that can contribute to this institution, you have young people who might not have 10 years of experience, but whom we want to be involved,” Omar added.
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