By Hajira Khota
12:08:2021

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, efforts have been made to postpone South Africa’s local government elections to October 2021. Local government elections were scheduled for October, but the IEC wants them delayed until February.

DearSouthAfrica is recognised by the state and constitutionally protected non-profit platform that allows the public to shape all government policies, changes, and recommendations. In an interview with Radio Islam International, the managing director of Dear SA, Rob Hutchinson, explains that they will be going to court to challenge the attempt by The Electoral Commission of South Africa not to seek a postponement of the local elections.

The electoral commission has petitioned the Constitutional Court after accepting the conclusions of an investigation into the possibility of free and fair elections in October, despite the pandemic’s obstacles. 

Health dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of emergency rules put in place to combat it, the committee concluded that the elections would be unlikely to be free and fair. Legal, socio-political, health, practical, and other pertinent factors are conceivable reasons for a delay.

The civil society organisations were divided on whether the delay was the best choice. The epidemic – and the new party finance regime – did not serve as a catalyst for political parties to modernise their operations. The political parties were more concerned with the campaign season than with how a postponement would affect voters.

Former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, who chaired the inquiry, stated that methods from other countries also influenced him. Elections were not postponed in the majority of situations.

Hutchinson further explains that most sectors of society have changed how they operate during the pandemic – many of them will become permanent. The onus is on political parties to influence public perceptions of the importance of local elections rather than on how they can campaign for this election. It is recommended that all health standards be implemented in all voting activities to improve the campaigning process. 

South Africa’s immunisation program ran across some difficulties and got off to a sluggish start. So far, events have conspired to the point where elections have had to be postponed. The public discussion over whether the local government elections be delayed focuses mainly on the potential detrimental impact on South Africa’s constitutional and democratic traditions.

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