The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) says its legal battle with the MK Party has delayed the printing of ballot papers.
On Tuesday, IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said the IEC could not afford any more delays if it was to stage successful elections.
This comes in spite of a pending Constitutional Court matter between the commission and the MK Party after the commission lodged an urgent application last week.
The Electoral Court had ordered the IEC to include Jacob Zuma’s name on the party’s list of candidates for Parliament after the party successfully appealed against the commission’s decision to exclude him from the list.
The IEC had upheld an objection to Zuma’s candidacy due to his criminal record for contempt of court, citing Section 47 of the Constitution, which disqualifies a party candidate who was sentenced to more than 12 months in prison, without the option of a fine, from contesting a seat as a member of Parliament.
However, last Thursday, the IEC lodged an urgent application with the Constitutional Court to appeal the Electoral Court ruling that Zuma was eligible to be the face of the MK Party.
Speaking on Newzroom Afrika, Mamabolo said the printing of the ballots should have started “but due to the delays, it will start tomorrow (Wednesday). In fact, we ought to have started last week”.
“That ongoing court disputes between the MK Party and the electoral body have caused a slight delay in commencing the printing of ballot papers, which was originally scheduled for last week but because of the electoral court matters that we had, we are delayed.
“We can no longer accommodate further delays. Otherwise, we will be impairing our ability to deliver sufficient ballots to all voting stations,“ he said.
During a media briefing on Tuesday, Mamabolo said that with the finalisation of the list of candidates contesting seats in the 2024 national and provincial elections, the IEC could go ahead with the printing of ballot papers.
“The 27.79 million registered voters will receive three ballot papers to elect candidates to represent them in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures,” he said.
Mamabolo said the use of the three ballots followed the amendment of the Electoral Act, which was signed into law in April 2023.
“This amendment revised the electoral system to allow independent candidates to contest in the regional (province-to-national) tier of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures.
“Although the phenomenon of three ballots will be familiar to voters in various local municipalities, it will be new to voters in metropolitan areas and, for the first time, in general elections for national and provinces.
“There are a total of 400 contested seats in the National Assembly. The proportional representation compensatory 200 seats will be contested by political parties only and there is a dedicated ballot paper for this tier of the National Assembly.
“The remaining regional or province-to-national 200 seats will be contested by independent candidates and political parties. This tier of the National Assembly will also have a dedicated ballot paper,” he said.
This means that National Assembly elections will be based on two ballot papers – a national ballot and the newly introduced regional or province-to-national ballot.
“Therefore, in respect of the elections of the National Assembly, voters may elect a preferred party on the national ballot and elect another preferred party or independent on the regional ballot. However, in respect of provincial elections, voters will elect a preferred party or independent candidate on a single provincial ballot,” he said.
The Star