By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Constitutional Court allowed Parliament a six month extension of the deadline it gave Parliament to amend the Electoral Act to allow independent candidates to stand in national and provincial elections.
The apex court handed down judgment on Friday morning, its reasons will follow at a later date.
The deadline was due to expire on 10 June.
It is now extended to 10 December.
In June 2020, the Constitutional Court ruled “the Electoral Act 73 of 1998 is unconstitutional to the extent that it requires that adult citizens may be elected to the National Assembly and provincial legislatures only through their membership of political parties”.
The Constitutional Court ruled in the New Nation Movement application that Parliament has two years to fix the electoral laws.
Parliament deferred drafting an amendment bill to the Department of Home Affairs, and the Electoral Amendment Bill was only tabled in Parliament in January.
The department of home affairs has held public hearings across the country during which some people said they supported the bill as the amendments would give every individual the right to be elected to Parliament and to the provincial legislatures without political party membership as a precondition.
They also said the amendment gave communities the opportunity to choose capable leaders, unlike the current situation where some parties nominated compromised candidates to stand for election.
As it became clear that the legislative process will not be completed on time, Parliament applied for the extension of six months.