John Matisonn: Panellists block electoral reform

Key topics:Minority pushes for constituency-based electoral reformMajority panelists back proportional representation systemDispute raises questions on accountability of SA MPsSign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By John Matisonn*.Reforms to elect MPs in constituencies to make them more accountable to voters suffered a heavy blow when the electoral reform panel set up by the government in 2024 sent two competing reports to Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.The so-called “original”, or minority, report “strongly” recommended a constituency based system – either 200 constituency seats and 200 proportional, or 300 constituency and 100 proportional -- based on extensive feedback and expert advice. The 200 seat version would provide single member constituencies, while the 300 seat version would provide for multimember constituencies of between 4 and 10 MPs each.Constituency based elections were endorsed by almost all political parties, as well as business, traditional leaders, some unions and most expert researchers and NGOs. It was also based on the recommendations of a number of parliamentary or judicial commissions from 2002 to 2020, which complained that parliamentary oversight is weak and ineffective under the current proportional representation party list system.Many expert representations argued that South Africa’s biggest setbacks since 1994, including the arms deal, the Aids crisis and State Capture would have been stopped more quickly if MPs were elected by local communities, giving them a more direct relationship with their MPs.They also argued that the current system puts power in the hands of the political parties and results in a lower calibre of parliamentarian, because they are afraid to investigate the actions of their party leaders in the executive.This report was supported by four panellists, but five panellists submitted an alternative report which offered a range of alternatives including the status quo and offered no recommendation. One of the signatories, who did not want his name used, said in an interview that the decision not to make a recommendation was deliberate, because the panel’s job was simply technical, to lay out the possible options without making a choice.But the report of this group quotes section 23 of the Electoral Amendment Act of 2023, saying the panel’s functions included “to independently investigate, consult on, report on and make recommendations in respect of potential reforms of the electoral system for the election of the National Assembly and the election of the provincial legislatures.”This report suggested that the current proportional representation system served as well as others and praised its proportionate representation. The five panellist majority who refused to make a recommendation were Dr Michael Sutcliffe of the ANC, and four executives associated with the Independent Electoral Commission with ANC links. They are Phatudi Simon Mamabolo, Michael Andre Hendrickse, Adv Faith Pansy Dikeledi Tlakula and Norman du Plessis..Read more:.Cape Town’s 30% levy hike sparks public fury ahead of 2026 local elections.In a letter to the minister the majority claim that the researcher, respected political scientist professor Mcebisi Ndletyana, sent the panel reports that “were not written neutrally, but instead was biased towards supporting a particular electoral option.“The reality was that the researcher held veto powers over panel members,” the five panellists wrote in a letter to the minister on September 22.The minority report proposing a constituency based system was signed by the panel chair, Adv Richard Sizani, who is a former head of the Public Service Commission, as well as Mmatsie Mooki, Tomsie Dlamini, and Dr Albertus Schoeman.The ANC submission to the panel said that multi-member constituencies would “not bring real accountability”, and ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said that the current system “has served South Africa well.”In 2002 the Van Zyl Slabbert Commission recommended a constituency based system. In 2006 a parliamentary commission under former ANC MP Pregs Govender argued that a lack of “strong, independent MPs providing oversight integrity was called into question in the context of significant political events in the early 2000s.“This included a lack of executive action to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis, Parliament’s handling of the Arms Deal, and the dissolution of the Directorate of Special Operations (known as the Scorpions). This led to public criticism portraying, Parliament as a rubber stamp of the Executive and/or the ruling political party.”In 2017 a high level assessment led by former president Kgalema Mothlante recommended “that Parliament should amend the Electoral Act to provide for an electoral system that makes Members of Parliament accountable to defined constituencies on a proportional representation and constituency system for national elections.”In 2018 the Zondo Commission criticised parliament for failing to hold the executive accountable for State Capture, and “recommended that Parliament should consider whether introducing a constituency-based (but still proportionally representative) electoral system” to “enhance the capacity of members of Parliament to hold the Executive accountable.”The decision to set up this latest panel resulted from a dispute arising in 2020 out the failure to implement some recommendations of a Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on Electoral System Reform, led by former Minister of Constitutional Development Valli Moosa.This committee suggested two options to address concerns raised by the constitutional court. When the majority in parliament proposed to enable independent candidates to run for parliament, but did not address the need for a constituency system, stakeholders threatened a law suit.This could have derailed the timetable for the 2024 elections. They agreed not to litigate if this electoral reform panel was set up to address their concerns..*John Matisonn is a South African who worked in electoral administration in the United Nations and was the Acting head of the United Nations Election project in Afghanistan.

John Matisonn: Panellists block electoral reform

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