With a little over 10 weeks to election day, politicking inevitably gets dirtier and more desperate. At a time when political parties and other stakeholders in the electoral process should be working collaboratively with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), some have recklessly chosen to attack and undermine it.
In what would appear to constitute breaches of the electoral code of conduct, members of the newly formed MK Party have threatened both the IEC and the judiciary with violence should disputes about former president Jacob Zuma’s eligibility for office and MK’s registration as a political party not be resolved in their favour.
The IEC has said that Zuma, having been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for contempt of court, is ineligible for election to the National Assembly in terms of section 47(1)(e) of the constitution. The ANC is challenging MK’s registration as a political party before the courts, alleging that the party’s application did not comply with the requirements for registration and that the deputy electoral officer erred when he accepted its application.
With respect to both matters, leading members of MK have threatened violence and more if Zuma is disqualified from taking office as a member of parliament or the MK Party is left off the ballot. In both instances, the IEC is simply discharging its constitutional mandate to conduct free and fair elections by ensuring compliance with the relevant electoral legislation.
Threats of violence have no place in any democracy, especially not when they're calculated to intimidate independent institutions, attempting to cow them into making decisions out of fear. Both the IEC and the ANC have made this point in their responses to the outbursts by the MK Party leaders. President Cyril Ramaphosa has gone so far as to say that law enforcement agencies should stand ready to arrest, prosecute and imprison anyone who incites political violence. While Ramaphosa's appeal may ring hollow given the failure to deal with the instigators of the July 2021 “insurrection”, the country can ill-afford a repeat of the carnage that followed Zuma’s arrest and imprisonment.
The IEC has the unenviable task of conducting what may prove to be the most contested election in the democratic era. Judging by its track record of delivering free and fair elections for 30 years, South Africans can rest assured that it will do so ably.
Yet the IEC’s undeniable reputation as a world-class electoral management body did not deter the DA from seeking to engage the foreign ministers of several Western countries, requesting resources for the deployment of domestic election monitors and an “independent parallel vote tabulation process”. This, the DA says, is because there is a threat to the integrity of this year’s elections, without articulating what that threat may be.
While not directly impugning the IEC, it is difficult to read the statement as anything but an expression of a lack of confidence in the IEC’s capacity and integrity to deliver a free and fair election. The DA’s appeal to these Western countries is especially curious given that many of them routinely send election monitors and observers during our national and provincial elections, in accordance with the IEC’s election-monitoring criteria.
Having successfully conducted free and fair elections for three decades, it is unclear what it is about the IEC today that the DA is apprehensive about. The idea that there is a need for heightened scrutiny for this election suggests that the DA considers the IEC to be compromised or vulnerable to interference, with no evidence to substantiate those claims.
The DA’s dog whistle was rightfully brushed off by the US embassy’s spokesperson, David Feldmann, who reiterated his confidence in our electoral processes given the IEC’s “long-standing and excellent reputation for conducting free and fair elections”.
But that is not to say the IEC is beyond criticism; it sometimes makes mistakes, and when it does it must be held accountable. It operates under very difficult and challenging circumstances, which have in recent times been compounded by frequent and uncertain legislative changes, greater responsibilities and an ever-shrinking budget.
Its internal controls have now been found wanting, as the candidate nomination lists from the ANC and the MK Party were leaked. It acted swiftly and decisively to fire the official who leaked them. In an era where accountability remains an elusive aspiration rather than a reality, it is to the IEC’s credit that it responded promptly, assuring the public that the breach was an isolated event and not an indication of systemic risk within the organisation.
Even with its shortcomings, the IEC remains an independent institution with unimpeachable integrity that discharges its duties despite being underfunded.
Like the courts, much of the IEC’s legitimacy comes from public confidence in its ability to carry out its constitutional mandate. It is for that reason that threats of violence against its officials and staff, and the DA’s attempt to cast doubt on its ability to deliver free and fair elections, should be denounced.
Threats of violence have no place in any democracy, especially not when they're calculated to intimidate independent institutions
All political parties should be working with the IEC through the political liaison committees, respecting the electoral code of conduct to ensure that these elections, like those that preceded them, will be free and fair. This will reassure voters that the results of the election — whatever they may be — should be accepted as a true reflection of voters’ choices unless material irregularities can be shown to exist. Where there are such transgressions, the electoral court stands ready to adjudicate disputes.
While it is true that the upcoming elections will be highly contested, that in itself does not justify the hysteria that has now gripped some sections of our society to the point of undermining the institutions that have so far served us well. We should support the IEC in whatever way we can to ensure that it continues to do its job free of interference and with the full confidence of the voting public. It is time to stand with the IEC, not against it.
• Naidoo is executive secretary of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) and Mafora its senior researcher
