Freedom Advocacy Network
Media Statement
21 February 2022
Electoral Amendment Bill is illogical and constitutionally incongruous
The Freedom Advocacy Network today submitted its submission to the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs in response to the tabled Electoral Amendment Bill (“the Bill”).
The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Electoral Act, 1998, so as to insert certain legislative definitions to include independent candidates. Although FAN welcomes in principle the decision to allow for independent candidates standing for national and provincial elections, it is concerned that the Bill would be detrimental to our representative democracy.
The Bill proposes a system where votes cast for an independent candidate would not count the same as a vote for a political party. Consequently, the Bill would lead to a great amount of wasted votes and grossly offend the notion of one person, one vote, which is a central tenet of our constitutional democracy.
“Electoral reform in South Africa is desperately needed as a matter of urgency. However, the Bill simply does not provide the solution to the problems that our current electoral system faces. It does not adequately provide for proportional representation, and it would inevitably lead to illogical outcomes that discriminate against independent candidates and their supporters,” says Hermann Pretorius, director of the Freedom Advocacy Network
The Freedom Advocacy Network has requested parliament to reconsider the proposed framework and rather adopt a simple and easy-to-understand system that addresses the concerning trend of electoral disillusionment in South Africa.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Hermann Pretorius
Managing Director at Freedom Advocacy Network
+27 79 875 4290
www.f-an.net
