The constitutionality of the Electoral Amendment Act will on Tuesday be challenged in the Constitutional Court.
The apex court will hear applications from the Independent Candidates Association of South Africa and the One SA Movement on an urgent basis.
The Electoral Act was amended to allow independent candidates to contest national and provincial elections.
Earlier this year, the Council for the Advancement of the Constitution’s executive secretary, Lawson Naidoo said while the legislation was still a bill – it did not facilitate free and fair elections.
He said a constituency-based system, similar to the one used for local government, is required to meaningfully accommodate independent candidates.
“The current draft before Parliament, the current bill says that each of the provinces constitutes a constituency. Pretty much as they do now. [In] the nine provinces … we have a regional to national ballot and a national to national ballot is how we currently choose. That doesn’t change in terms of what is being proposed in the current bill.”
“It merely says independent [candidates] can contest within the province and will be competing against the resources that big political parties have. That surely is not a level playing field,” added Naidoo.
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