IEC to push for deferring elections to February

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says while it will publish the election timetable following the proclamation of the 27th of October as the election date, it will push for the deferring of elections to February 2022 as recommended by the Moseneke Inquiry.

INFOGRAPHIC: Moseneke’s report:

IEC Chairperson Glen Mashinini says that the Commission is filing an urgent application in the Constitutional Court because the alternative of an amendment of the Constitution is not feasible.

“One is for the amendment of the constitutional provisions but in the report and ourselves have come to the conclusion that that is not feasible due to the time frames and secondly if we are to meet the supermajority of 75% that this could happen in the short space of time that is before us.”

LGE date proclamation

Earlier,  Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said she is bound by the Constitution and other legal statutes to timeously proclaim the date of the local government elections.

Dlamini-Zuma was briefing the media on developments with regards to the poll which is scheduled for 27 October 2021.

She says her proclaiming the date of the election, which will be gazetted on Wednesday, does not contradict the recommendations of the Moseneke Inquiry nor their acceptance by the IEC.

“The minister is bound to fulfill her statutory and constitutional obligation to timeously proclaim the election date for the elections. There is currently no court order that would excuse the minister from fulfilling her constitutional and statutory obligation. If the minister is forced to proclaim the election date before judgment of a Constitutional Court she may explain that she has been advised to do so to fulfill her constitutional and statutory obligations.”

Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s briefing on elections :