The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has warned that any model of an electoral system South Africa will adopt is bound to have serious political ramifications in the current democratic dispensation.
The Electoral Commission told Parliament that in its task in amending the current Electoral Act, in line with the Constitutional Court decision to rectify certain provisions in the legislation, it should be cognisant of the implication that will follow.
In June, the ConCourt declared the Electoral Act unconstitutional for prohibiting adult citizens to be elected to the national and provincial legislatures as independent candidates.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo says it is up to Parliament to decide between a multi-winner system and a single-winner electoral system.
“The choice of an electoral system has profound consequences for any society. A choice of an electoral system has profound consequences for any democracy.”
“For the fact that the electoral system has implications for the access to be a representative, it also speaks to the representation of historical disadvantage sectors in society. It also speaks about the political culture that is festered by the use of one or the other system. So the choice does have profound political implications for any society,” explains Mamabolo.
Source: SABCNews
