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Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee seeking common ground on changes to the Electoral Bill

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Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee dealing with amendments to the Electoral Bill is trying to find common ground on changes that need to be made to the bill.

One of the sticking points is whether independent candidates can contest elections in multiple regions.

Parliament has just a few months left to finalise the bill and send it to President Cyril Ramaphosa for assent before the December 6th deadline.

A range of issues including deposits to be paid by candidates, the number of seats an independent can contest, and where exactly independents can contest are still under discussion.

Parliament’s legal team is waiting for clarity from MP’s before it can start drafting the legislation.

MP’s are not in agreement about where exactly independents can contest.

The IEC is assisting the committee in an advisory role and it has put its proposal on this matter on the table.

“In terms of the regional elections, you can contest any election. So, it shouldn’t matter which region you are registered in. However, there would be a registration requirement in relation to provincial requirements. In other words, you have to be registered on the provincial segment of the voters roll in the relevant provinces to contest the elections of a provincial legislature,” says Sy Mamabolo, IEC CEO.

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