Maimane says postponing elections would take accountability away from the IEC
One South Africa Movement Leader Mmusi Maimane says if the local government elections are postponed, it would mean that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will not be held accountable.
Maimane was speaking outside the Constitutional Court on Friday, where the IEC is bringing its urgent application to postpone the elections.
The date for the local government election was proclaimed for 27 October 2021, but the IEC is asking it be postponed until early next year, citing the findings by the Moseneke Inquiry that Covid-19 may cause the election not to be free, fair and safe.
A report by the former Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke recommended that the country’s local government elections be held in February 2021.
However, Maimane says the IEC cannot be exempt from doing its work.
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“If we postpone the elections, it will give the IEC an opportunity to avoid accountability where they could’ve sufficiently prepared for the elections and ensured that elections were not only safe but were accessible and relatively easy for people to gain access to.
“The IEC is tasked with elections. It has had five years to prepare and it has failed at this instance.”
Maimane further argues that political parties should find more creative ways of campaigning, should Covid-19 lockdown regulations continue and restrict the number of people that are allowed to attend gatherings.
"So this political consideration that the only way one can hold a political messaging is by holding stadium events is a fallacy. What we would ask is in fact that people must be able to find a different way of campaigning."
Since the beginning of the country's vaccination drive, 10 million South Africans have been vaccinated.
The National Department of Health is targeting at least 40 million people across the country to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity.
