The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) will directly approach the Constitutional Court to postpone the local government elections, saying it will give the top court an opportunity to “contribute to the evolving jurisprudence” of the country’s constitution.
The IEC launched the application following the release of the Moseneke inquiry, headed by retired deputy chief justice, Dikgang Moseneke which recommended that the elections be deferred to a later date due to the health risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The IEC says its application to the top court is based on the constitutional impossibility of conducting elections beyond November 1, which is the 90-day expiry term for municipal councils. The constitution only permits municipal councils to sit for a five-year term, following which elections should be held.
The term for the 278 municipal councils elected in 2016 across the country ended on August 3, the same day that co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced October 27 as the official date for the local polls.
The immediate implication of the pronouncement by the minister was the closing of the voters roll by midnight on August 3, the IEC said. This means no new eligible voters may register to vote online until the top court gives approval for the postponement of the elections.
The municipal councils will remain in place until such a time that the IEC is granted permission to conduct local government elections beyond November, IEC chair Glen Mashinini said at a briefing on Wednesday.
The IEC is seeking an order from the court to hold elections no later than the end of February 2022 and to withdraw Dlamini-Zuma’s notice setting October 27 as the date for the elections.
“The alternative relief essentially asks the Constitutional Court to declare that failure to hold the municipal elections by November 1 2021 is unconstitutional and invalid and suspending the declaration of invalidity until the end of February 2022,” Mashinini said.
The electoral body further wants the top court to assume a supervisory role requiring the IEC to report to the court periodically on its progress in arranging constitutionally compliant local government elections in 2022.
The electoral body is in the process of finalising the cost of deferring the elections. The IEC had earmarked an estimated R2bn to conduct the elections prior to the release of the Moseneke report and the proclamation of the election date by the minister. This amount will, however, most likely be reconfigured as the electoral body seeks to defer the polls.
Additional costs include extending the contracts of freelance staff and refreshing the IEC’s communications campaigns, which were configured to encourage eligible voters to cast their ballots in October, IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said.
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