IEC Elections latest: DA ‘to keep an eye on courts’ after LGE postponement

With the independent Electoral Commission (IEC) set to approach the courts to legitimise their decision to postpone the 2021 Local Government Elections as per the recommendations of Former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, the Democratic Alliance (DA) – who opposed the postponement – say they will be keeping close tabs on how the courts handle the situation.

The Mosenke Inquiry found on Friday that the elections be postponed to early 2022, when the health risks associated with COVID-19 are reduced following the completion of the vaccine rollout.

DA: ‘Our position remains unchanged’ 

Despite having declared that they will follow the recommendations of the report, the IEC still need to go to the courts to change the constitutional limits placed on the terms of municipal councils and seek to defer the elections beyond October, according to IEC chair Glen Mashinini who spoke to the media earlier on Friday.  

“Until a court of competent jurisdiction has determined the application for deferral, all other planned electoral activities will proceed,” Mashinini said. 

The DA said that their position on the elections saga remains unchanged – “we did not support the postponement of an election based entirely on the equivocal provisions of the Constitution which call for regular, free and fair elections”, they said in a statement. 

“We will, however, be studying the submission of the IEC to the Court to specifically look at the mechanism that the Commission seeks to use to postpone the election.”

“It is absolutely important that this process is in line with the spirit and letter of the Constitution and protects the rights of all South Africans to go to the polls and elect a government of their choice. We will also be looking at issues of precedent that could be set by this postponement and on the basis of those specifics, make a decision on the next steps.”

IEC to approach the courts after postponement decision  

The DA campaigned vehemently for the elections to go ahead, saying that the constitutional mandate of elections being held every five years remained critical and that COVID-19 transmission risk was not necessarily a major threat. 

The DA outlined the following points in their response to Friday’s announcement by the IEC: 

• Our view is that the LGE must adhere to the constitutionally prescribed timeframe. Which, according to the Constitution, is every 5 years.
• The election timetable is a regulatory mechanism to ensure free and fair elections, and the “state of readiness” of political parties to participate in the elections is not a valid reason to postpone the LGE. 
• Mass gatherings are not essential to holding free and fair elections. It is these events that give rise to the risk of Covid transmission – not the holding of elections in themselves. 
• Arguments that the LGE will lead to increased Covid-19 infections can be disputed in light of the various by-elections which took place since the start of the State of Disaster.

“Now that the IEC has made the decision to approach the courts, we will be keeping a close eye on this process in order to ensure that we protect the cornerstone of our constitutional democracy – frequent, free and fair elections.”