The South African electoral administrative system has been defined as among of the best in the world.
This according to Ebrahim Fakir from the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. He said the proportional representative system was inclusive and ensured that every vote counted and made it possible for smaller parties to play a role in council. He added that small parties had an important role to play in calling for accountability and oversight.
Fakir was speaking at a round-table discussion on governance and coalitions post the municipal elections. The discussion was hosted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in Gauteng, with the aim of engaging political leaders in the province on possible pitfalls that lie ahead of coalition governed municipalities.
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Fakir started by congratulating the commission for delivering free and fair municipal elections on 3 August. He highlighted that the biggest winners in the past election were voters and not political parties.
The IEC’s provincial electoral officer, Masego Sheburi opened proceedings by sharing that the elections in Gauteng did not yield an outright winner in four of the nine municipalities. He added that the four municipalities, City of Johannesburg, Mogale City, Ekurhuleni and City of Tshwane are governed on coalitions.
Dr Ivor Sarakinsky from the Wits School of Governance had a critical view of coalition governments and said they do not represent the will of the people. “When people go to vote, they vote for a party and not a coalition. The will of the people cannot be aggregated.”
He added that political parties chose to come together without the consent of the voters. “Parties with substantial support get closed out of governing by smaller parties aggregating their seats.”
To handle coalitions in a better way or to ensure that the will of the people is satisfied, Sarakinsky said it would be best to have a referendum post elections should there be no outright winner. Another point that he felt would make coalitions work better was the inclusion of a diversified team of councillors from different parties in the mayoral committees. “This will put the checks and balances in place and ensure that the will of the people is actualised in the executive through diversity.”
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Matsobane Nkoko from the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs had strong words for party leaders. He urged them to put service delivery before everything. “When political battles break [out], service delivery should not be affected.”
Nkoko’s presentation was mainly based on the role and legislative mandate of the provincial government in supporting the functionality of municipalities post the municipal elections. He mentioned that the overall responsibility to ensure that a municipality functions optimally lies with the municipal council.
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