Dlamini-Zuma to gazette Oct 27 election date despite plans to postpone polls

Dlamini-Zuma briefed media virtually on Tuesday on developments relating to the 2021 local government elections. 

This comes two weeks after former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke ruled that this year’s elections would unlikely to be free and fair.  

Moseneke was appointed by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in May to determine whether it will be possible to head to the polls in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

In his report, he recommended elections should be postponed to February 2022 at the latest.  

The unprecedented calls for a postponement saw government seek legal counsel on the proclamation of the date, pending the IEC’s application to the Constitutional Court for a postponement.  

“The nature of the relief that the IEC will seek should determine whether the minister must first proclaim an election date for purposes of an application to the Constitutional Court.  

“What we say without any doubt is that the minister is bound to fulfil her constitutional and statutory obligations to timeously proclaim the election date for the elections,” Dlamini-Zuma explained.  

“Proclaiming the election date for 2021 would only be prohibited if there is a Court order postponing the elections to February 2022,” she added.

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Dlamini-Zuma is expected to sign off on the gazette later on Tuesday.  

“It is therefore clear that we still must go ahead to call the elections and gazette the date. This will also enable the IEC to go ahead and file papers in the Constitutional Court to postpone an election that has been called.”

But she was quick to dismiss claims that the move to gazette the elections was in contradiction with the Moseneke report.

“In gazetting the date, we are no way seeking to contradict the Inquiry’s conclusion or the IEC’s contemplated actions. We are just merely fulfilling our obligations,” Dlamini-Zuma added.  

According to Dlamini-Zuma, the electoral body is expected to approach the apex court on an urgent basis later this week.

The voters roll will then be sealed until a postponement is granted.