Should the local elections be postponed?

Voters, wearing PPE and socially distancing, cast their ballots in the US’s 2020 presidential election. Can (and should) South African voters do the same for the upcoming local elections?

Last week, at a press conference, Julius Malema proposed that the local government elections be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also suggested that the elections be held back until 2024 to coincide with the national and provincial elections.  

Is this a good idea?

It is perhaps important to separate the two issues. Firstly, there is the question of whether the election should be postponed because of the pandemic. Since the last election was held on 3 August 2016, the next election must be held no later than 1 November 2021 (i.e. 5 years plus 90 days).

Of course, it is crucial that the election does not put the voters or IEC staff at risk of infection on the day. Given the long queues we have become accustomed to, it is obvious that unless herd immunity had been achieved through the vaccination programme by then – which at this stage seems highly unlikely – it would amount to a massive operation to ensure social distancing, as well as sanitizing, everyone at polling booths. It can be done, but it would be difficult and there is a huge risk that this could become a mega super-spreader event.

More problematic is the run-up to the election, a point Malema also raised. In order to canvas voters, parties need to be able to move around and have meetings with constituents. Given the profile of their voters, this might be slightly less of an issue for the DA and FF+ who rely less on mass meetings than the ANC and EFF.

Thus, Malema raises the fairness of the election should canvassing not be possible. Even if, on the remote chance that the vaccine roll-out starts en masse in the second quarter of the year, it still would leave very little time for parties to canvass voters face-to-face.  

So, it does seem on the (masked) face of it that postponing the election is the responsible road to take.

Postponing the election would require a Constitutional amendment (and agreement from two-thirds of MPs). Irrespective of the other parties’ position on the matter, between the ANC and EFF there are enough votes to secure such an amendment.

The second question is then whether the election should be postponed to coincide with the National and Provincial elections.

“There are many benefits to combining the different elections… Combining [them] could save signifigant costs.”

The fact that the elections are not combined is more a historical legacy than a matter of principle. At the time of the transition in 1994, the legislation governing local elections was not yet written. I was part of the committee that passed the Local Government Structures Act, which laid the legislative path for the elections which then took place in 1995-1996, thus ensuring that all subsequent local elections were roughly midway through the term of the national and provincial legislatures.

There are many benefits to combining the different elections. Firstly, it would save costs. Elections are expensive businesses, for both the government and the political parties. Combining the two could save significant costs – especially for the government.  

Secondly, it would encourage more stability. Elections raise the tension levels in any country. In South Africa, our parties tend to focus on issues of inequality and failure – and in particular race – which creates much social discord and instability.

Elections also serve as a major distraction to politicians. For months prior to elections, MPs and councilors focus on re-election and not on service delivery or legislative work. Between the national/provincial and local elections, we have elections almost every second year which means, as Malema put it, “Politicians are in a permanent state of elections”.

It is true that combining the different elections would add another two ballot papers on the day, which could confuse voters. However, voters have become far more adept at voting over the past thirty years, so with a bit of voter education, this should not pose a huge problem. 

The largest reason usually given for not combining the various elections is that local issues get overshadowed with national questions. That is certainly a valid objection, except that it already happens to some extent in South Africa. During the local election of 2016 for example, the issue of President Zuma, as well as the governing party’s performance, were top of the agenda. Rarely did any local issue make headlines even in the local papers - although one would hope that in the future this will change.

Whether or not the election is postponed for a few months until 2022 or even 2024, the parliamentarians will have to move quickly after the opening of parliament in February. Given that both scenarios would require a Constitutional amendment, time is running out. Between the different periods for public comment, deliberations by MPs, etc, any amendment to the Constitution takes months to pass. The government will need to make up its mind quickly.