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Unisa electoral experts engage with SADC peers

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On 22 June 2023, a group of Pan-Afrikan electoral experts from Unisa engaged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) and Secretariat to review South Africa’s 2019 elections. Amongst their discussions, the engagement sought to predict what the country can expect at the 2024 national and provincial elections. This meeting came at the behest of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).

From left: Magabolle Mafiri, SADC Secretariat; Baboloki Koloi, SADC Secretariat; Limakatso Mokhotu (Kingdom of Lesotho) SEAC Member; Prof Kealeboga Maphunye, Unisa Department of Political Sciences, and former WIPHOLD-Brigalia Bam Inaugural Research Chair in Electoral Democracy; Judge Ticheme Dlamini, Kingdom of Eswatini; Advocate Sipho Mantula, former SADC and AU election expert and observer; and Fatima Da Graca Ferreira (Republic of Angola) SEAC member

The engagement was held at Unisa’s Muckleneuck Campus, and Unisa’s representatives were Prof Kealeboga Maphunye (Department of Political Sciences, and former WIPHOLD-Brigalia Bam Inaugural Research Chair in Electoral Democracy) and Advocate Sipho Mantula (former SADC and AU election observer and expert).

The objectives of the consultative meeting, led by Judge Ticheme Dlamini from Eswatini, was for the SEAC to brief various South African election stakeholders, including academia and electoral experts, on their post-election review report of the 2019 South African national elections and, in particular, the assessment and implementation of their recommendations.

Among the discussions that were held, the increase of gender representation, legislative quotas, and the role of women in elections and politics, in line with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, featured prominently. Mantula and Maphunye outlined the role of the South African Commission for Gender Equality’s annual report on assessing the gender balance on political representation and the case study of Rwanda’s parliament on gender parity.

Maphunye and Mantula also highlighted the measures taken by universities, political parties and research institutions to evoke interest in youth voter registration, adding that they are currently involved with the Unisa Student Representative Council and civil society workshops nationally.

Some of the recommendations that were raised during the deliberations included the following:

  • The amendment of South Africa’s municipal electoral laws to avoid the holding of by-elections close to the conduct of local or national and provincial elections, and limiting administrative backlog.
  • The finalisation of funding of political parties legislation, implementation measures and public consultation by the electoral commission.
  • The possibility of reforming South Africa's electoral system and using a hybrid model such as mixed member proportional (MMP) representation.

#Unisa150

* By Godfrey Madibane, Acting Journalist, Department of Institutional Advancement

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Publish date: 2023/07/10

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