By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Constitutional Court has granted parliament another extension to finalise the Electoral Amendment Bill.
Parliament brought an urgent application to the court on Tuesday, requesting a further extension to the deadline for the finalisation of the amendment bill from December 10 to February 28.
This was necessitated because the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) made changes to the bill that was passed by the National Assembly in October.
The NCOP made two major changes, proposed by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
Chief among the NCOP’s changes is a clause providing for the establishment of a panel of experts to consider more expansive electoral reform than what the current bill provides for.
This came on the back of widespread criticism of the bill from civil society, with a hybrid proportional/constituency system the preference of many.
It is not plausible to implement such a system in time for the 2024 election, and it is also not supported by the governing ANC.
The other change involves changing the threshold for supporter signatures, bringing what is needed by a party to register in line with what an independent candidate needs to compete in an election.
After the NCOP adopted the bill, it was referred back to National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs.
The committee received a legal opinion that the changes would require a further round of public participation.
This would require time, and with the deadline looming, the committee unanimously agreed that Parliament should again approach the Constitutional Court for an extension.
Moloto Mothapo, spokesperson for parliament, said parliament argued in the court submission that the “short extension is designed to permit adequate public participation in respect of the amendments proposed by the National Council of Provinces after the bill was passed by the National Assembly on October 20”.
“Parliament submitted that there would be no prejudice to any party should the further extension be granted, as the Electoral Commission would still have sufficient time to prepare for the 2024 elections,” said Mothapo.
The court suspended its declaration of invalidity order from June 10 to January 31 pending its final determination on the extension sought by parliament.
“In June 2020, the Constitutional Court declared that the Electoral Act was constitutionally invalid insofar as it makes it impossible for candidates to stand for political office without being members of political parties,” said Mothapo.