President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) chairperson Mosotho Moepya for a second seven-year term ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Moepya was one of three candidates who had been approved by the National Assembly for appointment as commissioners of the IEC.
The commission had three posts, and the filling of vacancies comes at a crucial time for the commission as it prepares for the local government elections.
Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced the appointment of Moepya, who faced a challenging tenure as the commission’s chairperson, to serve another term as a member of the IEC.
“Ramaphosa has also, in terms of Section 8(1) of the Electoral Commission Act, designated Moepya as the chairperson of the commission,” the Presidency statement read.
The president also appointed UN elections adviser Joyce Pitso to serve as a full-time member of the commission. Pitso has worked as an election adviser in several countries, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Lesotho.
Judge Dhaya Pillay, like Moepya, will remain in the IEC’s top position and will serve as a part-time member. Pillay’s only competitor was former KwaZulu-Natal deputy judge president Mjabuliseni Madondo.
Other contestants who lost out on the job include IEC’s former election matters GM Granville Abrahams, anthropologist Dr Rajendran Govender, advocate Geraldine Chaplog-Louw, who worked as the chief audit executive for the commission, academic Robert Luke Martin, political commentator Nkosikhulule Nyembezi and former chief director of legal services in the presidency advocate Sibongile Sigodi.
The candidates had been interviewed by a panel chaired by chief justice Mandisa Maya and included co-panelists public protector Kholeka Gcaleka, SA human rights commission (SAHRC) chair Chris Nissen, and commission for gender equality chair Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale.
The office of the chief justice undertook the process to interview candidates because Moepya, Pillay and Nomsa Masuku’s seven-year terms end in November.
Masuku’s time at the commission comes to an end amid a R1.2m fraud case against her. She was arrested last year and charged with theft, fraud and money-laundering in a case reported by Standard Bank to police 10 years ago. The charges emanate from her tenure as Standard Bank’s head of corporate social investment.
The appointments come as the IEC faces the challenge of a decrease in voter turnout in the last general elections, from 66% in 2019 to 58.64%, and needs to work on what could be done to boost voter participation.
