- National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has dismissed the idea that the 2024 elections may have to be postponed.
- This as Parliament will likely miss the 11 June Constitutional Court deadline to pass an amended act.
- News24 spoke to two experts about whether the elections may be postponed, and the process that has to be followed to postpone them.
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Thursday dismissed the idea the national and provincial elections in 2024 may be postponed due to Parliament failing to pass the Electoral Amendment Bill.
In June 2020, The Constitutional Court instructed Parliament to amend the Electoral Act to allow persons not belonging to parties to be elected to the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.
The court gave Parliament the deadline of 11 June 2022 to complete the amendment, which will soon lapse.
Mapisa-Nqakula said:
I don't see in what way it is threatening the elections. According to the reports, which I have received from the legal team, I know that we are really gunning for 6 November to finalise this whole thing.
News24 spoke to two experts about whether the elections may be postponed, and the process that has to be followed to postpone the elections:
Can the 2024 elections really be postponed if Parliament fails to pass an amendment act?
The former deputy chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Terry Tselane, told News24 according to his understanding, there was a possibility the elections could be postponed if an amendment act was not passed in time.
"If Parliament is not able to rectify that defect, it basically means that it is not going to be possible for the IEC to implement an act that has been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court," Tselane said.
"Therefore, we will find ourselves in a delicate position where, unfortunately, Parliament would have to sit and then consider what to do."
Meanwhile, the University of Free State department of political studies and governance's Dr Ina Gouws said while there was a possibility that the elections could be postponed, it was unlikely.
Gouws added if the Constitutional Court granted a postponement of the deadline, which was highly unlikely, it puts the IEC in a position where it would have to postpone the elections as it would not have time in place to adhere to the amended electoral process.
What needs to be done for the elections to be postponed?
She said there was no constitutional mechanism to postpone an election.
"An amendment to the Constitution will be required, which will need a two-thirds majority of votes in Parliament," Gouws added.
Meanwhile, Tselane said in order for the elections to be postponed, the IEC would have to approach Parliament to indicate it could not implement an electoral act which had been declared unconstitutional.
"And then, therefore, Parliament would still have to develop a mechanism to make sure that eventually, the legislation exists that would allow the IEC to operate and then from there.
"The IEC then has to establish with the period remaining, whether it is possible to have an election within a constitutionally stipulated period and if it is unable to, it has to approach Parliament again to introduce a mechanism to postpone the elections."
Tselane said the 2021 elections showed how the Constitutional Court said it would not "usurp" Parliament's powers by postponing an election, and it would likely be the case in this regard as well.
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