The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) says that the processes used in parliament to pass the contentious Electoral Amendment Act were problematic.
This as challenges to the act will be heard at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, brought by the Independent Candidates Association and Build One SA Movement.
The case challenges the threshold set for independent candidates to enter the national election.
There’s also a challenge to the number of seats available to independent candidates in the National Assembly.
The court has also been asked to consider the way in which seats are calculated when an independent candidate vacates a seat.
Executive Secretary at CASAC Lawson Naidoo says, “The process that was followed in parliament was highly problematic because they took 18 months from that judgement before the minister of Home Affairs tabled the amendment bill in Parliament, time that we believe was wasted.”
“We would argue that during the period he established the ministerial advisory committee to advise him on the electoral options, but at the end of the day, the minister ignored the majority of that and went with a minority view, which is highly problematic. We see it in the concerns that have been raised by civil society organisations, as well as in this court case that has been a long time coming.”
