Municipal polls: Local government elections are supposed to take place within three months of August 3 this year. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
By-elections in six provinces set to take place over the next three months will be postponed because of the move to level three of Covid-19 lockdown.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will approach the electoral court to postpone the by-elections — set for 20 January, 3 February, 17 February and 3 March — because of the ban on public gatherings and the 9pm to 6am curfew.
The disruption of the electoral process by the pandemic and lockdown regulations imposed to contain it is likely not to end there.
In the coming weeks, the IEC will decide how to deal with the countrywide local government elections to replace municipal councils, whose five-year terms of office end in August this year. Although the constitution prescribes that the elections be held within three months of 3 August, the IEC will start looking at alternative, legal means of conducting the poll.
Masego Sheburi, the IEC’s deputy chief electoral officer, said on Thursday that the decision to ask the court to postpone the by-elections was taken after discussions with political parties. The ban on gatherings and the restrictions on movement between 9pm and 6am made campaigning and other normal political activities impossible, with the postponement supported by political parties.
Sheburi said the IEC still had “no firm organisational position as yet” on how to handle the local government elections. But it had become clear that it was “increasingly no longer feasible” for some parties to conclude their internal political processes ahead of the cut-off date for the councils to be replaced.
“The commission is yet to take a position either way”, but was mindful of the constitutional and legal impasse created by the expiry of councils’ five-year term of office in August, Sheburi said.
He said the IEC would, in coming weeks, decide how to deal with the crisis in a legal fashion without making any constitutional amendments.
Democratic Alliance federal chairperson Helen Zille said the party continued with its preparations for the local government elections within the constitutionally specified period, which is 90 days on either side of August 3.
The party, which held its national policy and elective conferences online last year, has managed to adhere to the pre-election programme set for its structures to ensure it is poll ready for either date, despite the restrictions.
“We in the DA work on a time-grid, and are meeting our deadlines to be ready for the local government elections,” Zille said. “We are prepared for either eventuality, and we continue to do all our preparation online.”
In December, the party began the screening process for its councillors-elect, with provincial selection committees sitting virtually around the country ahead of the festive season break.
ANC eThekwini regional co-ordinator Bheki Ntuli said the party had been forced to put its branch general meetings, held to prepare and select delegates for its regional conference, on hold. The ANC’s most significant region, which has more than 100 branches, many of which have more than 2 000 members, was scheduled to hold its elective conference, together with 16 other regions and three provinces, this month. These conferences have since been postponed, and new dates have yet to be announced.
Ntuli said that this process, and selecting councillors elect ahead of the local government poll, would be placed under pressure by the reduction of the amount of time left available by the restrictions.
All indications were that restrictions on public gatherings would be extended, in one form or another, which would reduce the ANC’s ability to hold branch meetings. Branch general meetings need to have a minimum attendance of 50% plus to make a quorum. Some had up to 2 000 members, making the holding of meetings impossible, he said.
Ntuli said the shortening of the political year would make it more difficult for the ANC to “heal” after its elective conferences, which were likely to be heavily contested, before going into the elections.
“It is a very unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in. The lack of time to heal after leadership contestations at the conference before going into the elections will raise its own difficulties for the ANC,” he said.
Ntuli said it was unlikely that political activity would get going in earnest before the arrival of a Covid-19 vaccine.