New Political Party the First to Put Candidate Selection in the People’s Hands

24 February 2020

Over the past three months, The People’s Dialogue has been inundated with submissions from ordinary South Africans who believe that our political system is not working for them.

Central to these submissions is a deep frustration with how political parties choose candidates behind closed doors and impose them on voters as Councillors, Mayors, Premiers, Members of Parliament and Presidents.

This system serves political parties and career politicians, and not the people that vote for them. While there is no question that our electoral system must change, this would take considerable time

That is why our new political party will begin this process by revolutionising candidate selection by giving voters the final say over who they want their candidates to be. Watch the video here.

When we launch, voters will have the opportunity to register with us. When the time comes, candidates will apply to stand for political office in their respective communities and cities, or be nominated by the community.

We will host townhall debates so that voters can assess the candidates, and ultimately these voters will take part in a primary election to decide who they want to see on the ballot. This is a first for South Africa.

In the context of 2021, this means that those who have registered with us will be able to vote for the candidates we put forward as Ward Councillors and Mayors. For 2024, this would mean voting for Members of the Provincial Legislatures, Parliament, Premiers and the Presidential Candidate.

Once elected, our voters will also be given the opportunity to assess the performance of their public representatives. If a public representative fails that assessment, we will replace them with another candidate selected by the voters of that community.

In the coming months, we will launch an extensive campaign to inform voters of how they can participate in this process.

By adopting this system, we will have elected public representatives who are loyal and accountable to those who elected them, and not to the political party. This is what is needed in South Africa.

While we push for electoral reform in our country, we will practise values that we preach by implementing a candidate selection that puts voters first in a very real, immediate and practical way.

Our political system has to change if it is going to serve the people of this great country. Central to this is making politicians directly accountable to voters, and not just to self-serving political parties. Public servants should serve the public – not a party, and not themselves.

Issued byHerman Mashaba, Founder, The People’s Dialogue, 24 February 2020