The Inclusive Society Institute’s expert panel looking into electoral reform in South Africa met on 9 September 2020 to further elaborate on the design of a new electoral model for South Africa. The necessity to develop a new electoral model has been spurred by the recent Constitutional Court judgement declaring the current electoral model invalid. It has given the legislature two years to introduce new legislation that will enable independent candidates to stand for election in the national and provincial spheres of government.
Discussions have to date focused on garnering a clear understanding as the prescripts of the Constitutional Court’s judgement and the electoral boundaries set by the Constitution. Presentations were made by experts on electoral models in several jurisdictions that employ proportional representation electoral systems that also provide for the participation of independent candidates.
In this meeting, the panel started to conceptualise unique South African electoral systems that will be capable of giving effect to the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
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