Centre for Civic and Democracy Education

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PASSES THE ELECTORAL MATTERS AMENDMENT BILL

Parliament, Tuesday, 12 March 2024 – The National Assembly (NA) today, during its hybrid plenary, passed the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill.

The Bill seeks to amend the Political Party Funding Act of 2018. Among its key objectives is to align various pieces of legislation with the Electoral Amendment Act of 2023, which enables independent candidates to contest elections for seats in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.

The Bill further seeks to regulate the private and public funding of independent candidates and independent representatives.

Additionally, the Bill provides for the inclusion of independent representatives who may receive funds from the Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF). The fund aims to raise and distribute donated funds from the private sector to represented political parties. Administered by the IEC, the MPDF will now include independent candidates.

The Bill prevents the Electoral Commission from accepting donations for the MPDF if there is reason to believe it is the proceeds of crime. The Commission can also suspend the payment of money to a represented political party, independent political party, or independent representative if it is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the represented political party or independent representative has failed to comply with the Act.

According to the Bill, a political party, independent representative, or independent candidate must disclose all donations they received to the Commission. A juristic person or entity that donates to a political party, independent representative or independent candidate above the threshold prescribed must disclose this to the Commission.

The Bill also makes it an offence – punishable with a fine, imprisonment or both – where donations are made to gain political influence and favour. It makes it an offence to donate to a political party, a member of a political party, an independent candidate, or an independent representative in the expectation that the party, member, representative or candidate concerned will influence the awarding of a tender, licence, approval, consent or permission, or the relaxation of a condition or restriction, the provision states.

The National Assembly passed the Bill with 240 votes to 90.

The Bill will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.


ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES

https://chng.it/WgYPt6CZsh
The National Assembly (NA) passed the bill on Thursday 23 February 2023 after the National Council of Provinces amended it and returned it to the NA for finalisation. A total of 299 of the 400 MPs voted on the bill, 218 for it and 81 against.

The final bill allows independent candidates but is still loaded against them in favour of parties. Independents must obtain signatures from about 15% of the voters required to win a seat (about 6 300 signatures) before they can stand; although this has been reduced from 20% (about 8 400 signatures) this is still a high bar for candidates to meet.

The status of the 2024 national and provincial elections still hangs in the balance. The Electoral Commission needs sufficient time to prepare for the elections. Whether there will be independent candidates, the calculations for votes and seats, and what will happen with wasted votes are crucial in this planning.

Help us to safe guard our democracy by signing the petition to urge the president NOT to sign the bill in its current format

Regards,

This campaign needs you now CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS TO THE ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL

Puff and pass

Invitation to register on the database for Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) opportunities within the Johannesburg Social Housing Company.

Please send your CV to: [email protected].

Closing Date: 14 September 2022.

Today we had a collaborated with The City of Tshwane, Patch Up SA and the Electoral Commission (IEC) for Mandela Day.

A hot and healthy meal was served to the homeless and unorganised youth of Eersterust

As well as Civic and Democracy Education.

BE KNOWLWDGEABLE

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.academia.edu/28597907/COMPONENTS_OF_CIVIC_EDUCATION&ved=2ahUKEwi0kNLxlJH0AhWGi_0HHacRBlMQFnoECCkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0u8nQiebTOdEd1UUK17Inc

COMPONENTS OF CIVIC EDUCATION It is important that everyone has an opportunity to consider the essential questions about government and civil society that continue to challenge thoughtful people. Addressing the first organizing question "What are civic life, politics, and

Knowledge Bank: The importance of civic education in a democracy With Dr Paledi Magopa.
https://omny.fm/shows/powertalk-archive/knowledge-bank-the-importance-of-civic-education-i

Knowledge Bank: The importance of civic education in a democracy - POWER Talk - Omny.fm In this week’s edition of the Knowledge Bank, we discuss what civic education means in a democracy. Good civic education seeks to develop competence in explaining and analyzing. If citizens can explain how something should work, for example the legal system, or the system of checks and balances, t...

https://youtu.be/RGx7Yh5sT14

We had an engagement on Civic Education, post elections analysis

CCDE Represented at the LGE 2021 National Observers Training

Get ready to vote in on 1 Nov.

Register at your voting station on 18/19 Sept, 8am-5pm. Voting Station Finder at https://t.co/7KdzxQ3Upp.

Bring your SA ID & mask up. Or register by proclamation on 20 Sept at https://t.co/WorsxgXJOo.
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Voting in a pandemic: Lessons for elections in Africa in 2021

Editor's Note: Below is a Viewpoint from Chapter 6 of the Foresight Africa 2021 report, which explores top priorities for the region in the coming year. This year’s issue focuses on strategies for Africa to confront the twin health and economic crises created by the COVID-19 pandemic and emerge stronger than ever. Read the full chapter on good governance.

Foresight Africa 2021Elections are large-scale community-based events that thrive on participation, as well as transparency and confidence to ensure their credibility. For this reason, in Africa, with limited provisions for early voting or alternatives to in-person voting in many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic is placing the integrity of elections at risk. While some countries have postponed their elections due to the pandemic, many others have chosen to move forward during this trying time. However, since COVID-19 will remain a reality in 2021, its associated risks, including reduced campaigning; decreased voter turnout; and less transparent, but more expensive elections may undermine the public’s trust and, thus, democracy more broadly.

African elections held early on in the pandemic have compelled urgent adaptations and innovations to electoral processes and timelines. Burkina Faso was forced to reduce the inspection period for the voters’ register, while Côte d’Ivoire introduced online checking of the voters’ register. Nigeria widely publicized its COVID-19 electoral policy framework, increasing transparency for interested parties. In the Central African Republic, a dedicated poll worker is responsible for ensuring voters abide by COVID-19 mitigation measures. Malawi increased its use of social media to distribute COVID-sensitive voter education materials, relying on animation instead of human actors.

Planned national and local elections in 2021, such as those in Ethiopia, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia, will face greater pressures to replicate these lessons. In an era when elections face a major trust deficit, election authorities need to act even-handedly when it comes to things like election campaigns. How authorities enforce rules for election campaigns, such as crowd sizes or the absence of masks at campaign rallies, will influence voters’ perceptions of their independence. Unequal enforcement of COVID-19 rules will sway voters’ views of bias easily.

President announces 27 October 2021 as a date for local government elections.