Panel to hand over electoral system report to Home Affairs next year

The Electoral Reform Commission Panel says it will be ready to hand over its report to the Home Affairs Minister in May next year.

The panel was established six months ago, under the Electoral Amendment Act, to consider South Africa’s current voting system.

The panel has given an update on its work to Parliament.

Panel Chairperson Richard Sizani explains the next step in the process.

“From January to February we are going to be going to all the provinces. We will be talking to communities, traditional leaders, people in the rural areas and people in urban areas, to hear their views about our electoral system after 30 years.”

Meanwhile, panel member Michael Hendrickse says a new electoral system might be necessary, but it won’t necessarily be a quick fix.

“It’s also important that we understand that the electoral system is not going to solve all our problems. We tend to sometimes look at a particular process and say now we going to solve all our problems. It’s never going to solve. Yes, it can contribute to the overall solutions we are seeking as a country. As a society, by all means. But I don’t think we should say, okay the electoral system is going to sort out all our problems as we go forward.”