IEC barrier tape at a voting station. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)
Following the release of former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke s report that elections should be postponed until February, My Vote Counts
Letlhogonolo Letshele weighs up the pros and cons of holding the local government elections at a later date.
Former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke has handed over the final report to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on the findings into the feasibility of free and fair elections amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Justice Moseneke recommended that local government elections be postponed until February 2022 for elections to be regarded as free and fair due to the threat posed by Covid-19 and the current restrictions on political activity. The IEC is yet to decide on the local government elections scheduled for 27 October 2021.
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Earlier this week former Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Dikgang Moseneke recommended that South Africa’s local government election be postponed to February 2022. The Constitution requires these elections to be held before the end of October, which means the only fail-safe legal way to postpone these elections is through a constitutional amendment, something that would be very difficult to do. Unfortunately, the alternative legal mechanism proposed by Justice Moseneke to legalise the postponement is both constitutionally undesirable and uncertain to succeed.
At first glance, the decision on whether to postpone the local government elections scheduled for October 2021 to February 2022, is an impossible one to make. This is partly because it is impossible to predict with any certainty what the Covid-19 situation will be in late October or in February next year. Moreover, whatever the situation will be, Covid will still be with us, and some Covid restrictions are likely to be in place whe