Election delay a necessary evil born of failure

20 August 2021

The Constitutional Court case being brought by the IEC today is a blight on our democracy that should make every South African angry.

While ActionSA remains opposed to the postponement of the election, the inaction of both the ANC and the IEC has created a scenario in which a postponement of the election is the lesser evil than the alternative – an October election where many South Africans would have been deprived of a proper opportunity to register to vote and make their voices heard. Through its actions, the IEC has worked to undermine South Africa's faith in an October election and their competence as an institution.

Today, many parties and applicants will focus on the jurisdiction of the court in this matter, or the arguments for and against postponement, but the fact of the matter remains that an election at the end of October would produce a democratic crisis.

Let’s consider the fundamentals, should the elections continue on 27 October 2021:

With the Voters’ Roll now closed, millions of young people including those who will turn 18 prior to the election, will be denied the opportunity to register to vote following the voter registration weekend initially planned for July having failed.

Similarly, people who have moved since 2016, and not re-registered, will not be allowed to vote where they now live.

The result would be skewed because only a minority of voters who felt confident enough to vote safely will result in historically low turnout.

In the final analysis, both scenarios are bad choices for our democracy and as such also of great concern. Fair elections mean that results reflect the will of the people, not just those who have the wherewithal to satisfy themselves that the IEC will or will not have put adequate measures in place to keep them safe.

To that end, South Africans are stuck between a rock and hard place. In postponing the elections, the Constitutional Court being forced to undermine the very provisions it must protect, a direct consequence of the IEC’s lack of preparation. This despite having had ample time to plan and anticipate the current crisis.

The IEC’s court application effectively forces the Court to decide between the right to life or health, and the right to participate in our democracy – two rights our Constitution guarantees without qualification. 

In the second, proceeding with the elections in October presents a threat to our democracy of comparable proportions. An election potentially perceived to lack credibility and legitimacy arising from the low participation levels anticipated in the current environment will produce public unrest and uncertainty.

No mistake should be made that the invidious position in which the Constitutional Court finds itself, is the product of the IEC’s inactions, and South Africans should be outraged.

Rather than studying the 125 elections held safely around the world over the last 18 months and communicating a compelling best practice that could give South Africans confidence to vote safely, the IEC has been led by the vested interests of the incumbent political parties who do not wish to see an October election.

It is a matter of record that Justice Moseneke’s report notes many elections succeeding around the world, most recently in Zambia. It alludes to the fact that most South Africans want the elections delayed – the clearest indication of a lack of confidence in the IEC’s readiness for these elections.

South Africans should also frown at political parties that have continually whined about the limitations on their campaign activities in the faces of businesses, organisations and families who have all been forced to learn to operate differently during this pandemic. There is absolutely no reason that the IEC and political parties should not have followed suit.

It follows to conclude then that many of these parties equally do not want elections to proceed in October because of the imminent electoral collapses they face for having failed South Africans.

This is true for no party more than the ANC. The ruling party has every interest to evade being held accountable for the calamity that has befallen South Africans. Many of us have lost loved ones, and face increased joblessness as many businesses closed their doors. To add salt to injury, dealing with the so-called #FreeZuma looting spree became more important than vaccinating our citizenry.

Finally, while a four-month delay means a continuation of failed governments, an election of questionable legitimacy in an under vaccinated population would be the far greater evil.

Issued by Michael Beaumont, National Chairperson, ActionSA, 20 August 2021