By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has indicated the Electoral Amendment Bill, if enacted as is, may only be valid for the 2024 elections.
Mapisa-Nqakula told parliament’s programming committee meeting that any changes to the bill proposed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) might only be considered by parliament after the elections.
The unprecedented move would enable parliament will meet the Constitutional Court-imposed deadline of December 10 to enact the law and also deal with possible changes by the NCOP.
The bill is currently before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) after MPs in the National Assembly voted in favour of passing the legislation last month.
NCOP’s Select Committee on Security and Justice has since indicated that it will propose amendments to the bill after considering the public submissions it received on 9 November.
The committee will send the legislation back to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, which was tasked to amend the Electoral Act 73 of 1998 to allow independent candidates to contest elections.
This is according to Committee Section manager, Nomvula Giba.
” The Select Committee on Security of the NCOP is likely to propose amendments on the Electoral Amendment Bill.
“[This] will mean that when the bill is returned by the NCOP on the 29 [of November], the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs will have to meet again either to agree or disagree with the proposed amendments,” she told the National Assembly’s Programming Committee during a meeting” on Thursday.
Giba later said: “We were advised that when NCOP finalises its work on the Electoral Amendment Bill, the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs will schedule its meeting on the 30th of November and adopt its report on that particular bill”.
The bill – which has to be signed into law by 10 December as per the June ruling of the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) – will also have to be voted and adopted by the National Assembly yet again after dealing with the NCOP amendments.