LETTER: ANC not interested in accountability

The news that the ANC has opted to recommend minimal changes to the way we elect our representatives at provincial and national level is disappointing but not surprising.

As Carol Paton points out, the ANC has stood against electoral reform for some time now, even though the system of pure proportional representation was supposed to be an interim measure, with the electoral system being changed later (“ANC leadership opts for minimal changes to electoral law”, September 15).

It is also not clear how in effect turning each province into a constituency will in any real way allow independents to stand for parliament or provincial legislatures. Parties have to pay R45,000 to stand for a provincial legislature — will this amount be required for independent candidates too? Such an amount would be prohibitive for most South Africans who would like to stand for a provincial legislature.

A similar problem would likely hold for individuals who want to stand for parliament; a political party has to pay a deposit of R200,000 to put forward candidates for the national legislature.

It is also concerning that the ANC has reportedly decided against electoral reform. This is for parliament, not the ANC, to decide. Again, this conflation of party and state is as disappointing as it is unsurprising.

This latest rejection of real electoral reform shows that the ANC has little interest in ensuring that South Africans get true accountability from their public representatives.

Marius Roodt
Institute of Race Relations

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