The Electoral System

What Electoral System Do We Use in South Africa?

By Koketso Mamabolo

Regardless of the model used, democratic elections are a way for people to exercise their right to choose who governs and how they govern. From the Greek words demos (people) and kratos (power), the word ‘democracy’ describes the ‘will of the people’.

With the 2024 elections fast approaching, it’s important to understand what South Africa’s own electoral system looks like, strengthening the ‘will of the people’ by ensuring we’re fully aware of the system we are operating in.

Universal Adult Suffrage

The importance of voting and elections is clear from how central they are to South Africa’s Constitution. Chapter 1 lays out the founding provisions which are a set of values, including 1(d): “Universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, regular electionsand a multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness.”

In Chapter 2, under Political Rights, Section 19 (2) states that, “Every citizen has the right to free, fair and regular elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution.” Furthermore, Section 19(3) says, “Every adult citizen has the right (a) to vote in elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution, and to do so in secret”.

In terms of section 190 of the Constitution, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is obligated to manage the electoral process, ensure it is free and fair, declare the results and manage the voters’ roll, with its duties set out in the Electoral Commission Act (1996).

National And Provincial Elections

The national elections are used to determine the composition of the National Assembly, which is responsible for the laws and policies that affect the nation as a whole, while the provincial elections are for the nine provincial legislatures which are responsible for enacting the laws and policies that apply only to their particular province.

In June 2023, the Electoral Amendment Act was signed into law. While the amendment does not fundamentally alter the electoral system, it makes room for independent candidates. The “two-tier multimember compensatory proportional representation system” stays in place, with 400 seats available in the National Assembly.

Half of those seats are reserved for those contesting the national list (political parties), while the other half are divided among the nine regions (provinces), with seats being contested by both parties and independent candidates. The split among the regions takes into account the number of voters per region.

The most significant change will be the introduction of a third ballot paper. The first ballot will be for political parties on the national list; the second will be for the regional elections (both political parties and independent candidates); and the third ballot will be for electing members of the provincial legislatures.

These are two separate elections (the first two for national and the last for provincial elections) and as the IEC explains, “Although separate, they are conducted simultaneously on the same day.” New policies are being put in place by the IEC to ensure that its own processes support the introduction of independent candidates. This includes:

1. An update to the Candidate Nomination System

2. An update to the Results System

3. Revising the liaison processes to include independent candidates

4. A review of the political party funding legislation

5. Further amendments and regulations which relate to the Act

Voting Districts

The Municipal Demarcation Board is responsible for deciding on municipal and municipal boundaries which in turn assists the IEC in curbing fraud and ensuring the election process is run efficiently. Voting districts are based on the geographical size of an area along with the number of voters in the area. Voters may only register and vote in the voting district in which they reside.

Metropolitan, Local and District Elections

Elections for metropolitan and local councils are done in what is described as a mixed system, with half of the seats decided through the proportional representation system and the other half through the constituency or ward system. Each ballot has the names of candidates in a particular ward, with the candidate with the most votes getting the seat for their ward. Ward candidates may stand independently or as representatives of political parties.

Voters also receive a ballot where they can vote for a political party (proportional representation ballot) and are allocated seats for the whole metropolitan area, similar to how the seats are distributed at the national level.