CHIEF Justice Mandisa Maya and some of the country’s Chapter Nine institutions are set to start the process to fill vacancies soon to be created by three members of the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC).
The seven-year tenures of IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya, commissioners Judge Dhaya Pillay and Dr. Nomsa Masuku are due to end later this year following their appointments by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November 2018.
According to a notice published by the Office of the Chief Justice this week, nominations are invited to fill three vacancies of IEC members (commissioners) and one of the vacant positions should be filled by a high court judge.
Chief Justice Maya is the chairperson of the panel comprising the Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka as well as representatives of the SA Human Rights Commission and the Commission for Gender Equality, which are all Chapter Nine institutions in terms of the Constitution.
The criteria for nomination and possible appointment is that IEC commissioners must be South African citizens, be fit and proper persons to hold that office and do not at that stage have a high party-political profile.
Ramaphosa appoints members of the commission for a term of seven years, but nominees are required to indicate their availability to serve full-time or part-time.
The Electoral Commission Act states that a commissioner may be reappointed but only for one further seven-year term of office.
Appointment as a commissioner requires recommendation by the National Assembly by a resolution adopted by a majority of its members.
The panel has to submit a list of no fewer than eight recommended candidates to the National Assembly.
Additionally, the panel shall act in accordance with the principles of transparency and openness and make its recommendations with due regard to a person's suitability, qualifications and experience.
The recommended candidates are likely to take office a few months before the 2026 local government elections.
During this period, the IEC is expected to continue with attempts to introduce electronic voting (e-voting), which was halted in deliberations on the Electoral Amendment Bill in 2020.
This was after a substantial number of concerns were raised that the Bill was too vague in terms of electronic voting, gave the IEC too much discretion without parliamentary oversight or public participation, and lacked specific e-voting definitions and procedures.
It was also felt that e-voting in South Africa will need a detailed accompanying public education campaign to educate the electorate and stakeholders on the realities of e-voting in the country.
Last month, the IEC undertook to schedule a series of stakeholder meetings to discuss the contents of its electronic voting policy discussion paper, gather feedback and input from various sectors of society and develop a detailed e-voting action plan based on the outcomes of the discussions.