Time is running out to prepare for the 2004 elections as the legislation required to regulate the poll is not yet before Parliament, but appears caught in a stalemate between the ministries of home affairs and justice.
Also ringing alarm bells is rising concern over whether the government can deliver the more than one million barcoded ID books still needed ahead of voter registration deadlines in November and early next year.
Parliament’s home affairs committee has asked the ministers of home affairs and justice to brief it on who is responsible for the new electoral legislation and when the law can be expected.
Time frames to process this legislation would be set after the ministerial briefing, it emerged during Tuesday’s home affairs committee meeting.
The committee also sent letters of concern regarding time pressures to Speaker Frene Ginwala and Deputy President Jacob Zuma, as the leader of government business coordinating interaction between the Cabinet and Parliament.
After last year’s electoral system review, the Cabinet in early March decided to retain for 2004 the proportional representation system whereby voters cast ballots for political parties, which select provincial and national public representatives from the party candidate list.
The new government may still review the election system, said a Cabinet statement on March 5.
Election legislation is needed to effect the Cabinet’s decision to retain the proportional representation system because, according to constitutional provisions, it was valid only for the 1994 and 1999 elections.
Insiders say the home affairs legal team considered the matter after the Cabinet decision and referred it to justice. A justice ministry official this week said no documentation has yet been received.
However, it is understood that the Cabinet at its last meeting decided that responsibility for the legislation lay with both ministries.
”I’m quite worried about time. Parliament will be under pressure,” home affairs committee chairperson Patrick Chauke told the Mail & Guardian.
”This could be the first time a portfolio committee is demanding legislation.”
Earlier on Tuesday he told committee members the situation was ”a concern that must be addressed as soon as possible”, especially as the Independent Electoral Commission last week told MPs it was also worried.
Legislative options talked about in parliamentary and government circles include amendments to the current Electoral Act or constitutional amendments, which would require a two-thirds majority in both houses.
The electoral review team’s minority report, which recommended the retention of the status quo, has submitted a draft Bill of constitutional amendments.
In a twist to the election law debate the Democratic Alliance last week submitted a private member’s Bill proposing a system of MPs elected from constituencies — based largely on the electoral review team’s majority report.
That report recommended that most of Parliament’s 400 members be chosen directly by voters from 67 constituencies.
DA MP Ken Andrew said the ruling party had delayed appointing the electoral task team even though it knew for several years that a review was required. He said that when the review recommendations were released there had been no time to consider a constituency system.
But now time is running out even to maintain the proportional representation system. Already the parliamentary calendar is crammed. Time pressure is likely to further increase amid speculation that Parliament could rise as early as October, months ahead of the traditional mid-December end of term.
Only nine months are left before the elections. The poll is widely expected in March or April so that either the vote or the inauguration of the new government coincides with April 27 —marking the 10th anniversary of South Africa’s first democratic poll.
Meanwhile, there seems to be confusion over how many barcoded ID books are still needed to enable all potential voters to cast their ballots.
The Department of Home Affairs estimates 1,5-million South Africans are without the barcoded ID, but in a written response to a query added that ”an exact figure … is not available”. In contrast, DA leader Tony Leon last month cited Independent Electoral Commission 2002 figures of at least 5,6-million citizens without IDs.
Home affairs could issue 8 000 IDs a day, but the demand ahead of the 2004 elections was expected to increase to 20 000 a day, Buthelezi said in his budget speech.
However, the high cost of photos —up to R30 in some rural areas — has been identified by MPs and officials as an obstacle to potential voters getting their ID books.
A request has been sent to the national Treasury to make more funds available, particularly to supply free photos and waive fees for the reissuing of IDs to beef up the home affairs budget allocation of R15-million for its ID campaign.