Date: 11/03/2003
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
Title: Buthelezi: Briefing at release of Electoral Task Team Report
MEDIA BRIEFING ON THE ELECTORAL TASK TEAM REPORT BY MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI, MP, MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND PRESIDENT OF THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY, Cape Town, 11 March 2003
Today's media briefing offers the opportunity for some broad-based analytical reflections on one of the most important features of our democracy. It is the point of arrival of a process, but it is also the beginning of what could be a new process of reflection and understanding on the weaknesses and strengths of our fledgling democracy. What is to be presented today is not a matter for party-political analysis. It should not be cast within the discourse of party politics. It is something fundamental, which affects our democracy and must be lifted above the views and desires of political parties, to finally become the rightful property of civil society.
Today we table the Report of the Electoral Task Team, which was established by Cabinet to deal with the electoral system of South Africa. Since I first promoted this initiative I have been deeply aware that the electoral system and laws of the country cannot be the expression of the views and desires of political parties alone. The electoral system represents a compact between voters and elected representatives. For this reason, it cannot be the expression of what political parties alone want, and this may be one of the few cases in which the political system is almost in a conflict of interests in writing the contract with the electorate in terms of which all the members of Parliament are to be employed.
Therefore, from the outset, my view was that of establishing a task team, which could lift the debate and the drafting of new legislation away from political tensions and truly reflect the needs of our democracy and the views of civil society. In my proposal to Cabinet, I chose Dr van Zyl Slabbert because he is a champion of civil society who knows intimately the weaknesses and traps of politics. He is also a true democrat and somebody who genuinely loves our country. My original proposal for the establishment of an electoral task team was submitted to Cabinet in time and with a view to drafting legislation, which could be applicable to the 2004 elections.
The processing of my Department's proposal for the establishment of an Electoral Task Team was delayed within the Cabinet process for almost one year, in spite of several pronouncements by the President that this matter would be finalised. At the end of this lengthy Cabinet process, which effectively endorsed and made my Department's proposal its own, with the rider that the consultation with political parties should be emphasised. I was finally in the position to give the green light to the establishment of the task team on March 20 of last year. Almost a year later, the work of the Electoral Task Team can finally be made public.
In the terms of reference which I gave the Task Team as its mandate, in accordance with the relevant Cabinet Resolution, was the formulating of the parameters of new electoral legislation and drafting a new Bill to apply to the scheduled national and provincial elections for 2004. Originally, I hoped that the Task Team could finalise its work by November last year, but this deadline became unattainable because of certain difficulties encountered within the work of the Task Team, of which Dr van Zyl Slabbert kept me apprised. In its work, the Task Team consulted extensively both with representatives of the political system as well as with civil society. It even consulted extensively with members of the media, in the hope that your papers would promote a public debate on the real issues relating to an electoral system. I was very disappointed that none of the papers bothered to run any extensive questionnaires or other means to test public preferences in respect of the many options which the Task Team brought to light, such as different types of constituency systems.
It organised a high-level international conference, which highlighted some of the best options available to South Africa to have a better electoral system. This high-level conference brought together some of the best experts, both domestically and internationally and some of South Africa's most important and significant stakeholders and role players. From this conference it emerged that the present electoral system is of good quality in respect of three of the four identified criteria, which the Task Team believed are necessary for a good electoral system in a South African context. The conference accepted that the present electoral system provides a sufficient degree of representativeness, fairness and simplicity. However, it pointed out that it falls short in respect of accountability. The conference pointed out that if the present electoral system is to be improved, elected representatives must become more accountable to the voters and less accountable to party leaders and party structures.
The findings of this conference vindicate the very reason for which Cabinet established the Task Team. By establishing the Task Team, Cabinet expressed the intention of producing for South Africa something better than what we now have, and more consonant with the levels of democracy we are trying to achieve. Our efforts in this sense were vastly supported by domestic and international donors who made available very significant financial and logistical resources for the work of the Task Team and the holding of the international conference. We were all united to give South Africa something new, which could be better. As the line-function Minister, I gave no direction to this debate. I did not table my personal preferences. I merely acted as a catalyst, providing a venue and a mechanism, which would enable the debate to take place.
The work of the Task Team was presented to me in January this year. It was bound in a complex document, which is meant to be an historical record of the work of the Task Team. In fact, as I understand it, in reporting, the Task Team wished to report not only to the nation and me as the Minister, or to Cabinet, but also to civil society in order to ensure that the debate could continue. For this reason, its paginated report contained as annexure and appendixes all the input material and a vast amount of background documentation, including academic papers and findings of scientific research. This documentation is of great value to anyone wishing to take further studies and discussions on the electoral system of South Africa and the conditions necessary to promote further levels of democracy in our country.
Dr van Zyl Slabbert will present the work of the Task Team in greater detail. I just wish to comment on the fact that the report was made richer by its outlining not only the view of the majority of its members, but also the view of those who did not agree with it, which is contained in a minority report. Simply put, the majority view was that the present system needs to be substituted by a better one, which promotes greater accountability, while the minority view was that the present system, should be maintained as it is. However, as Dr van Zyl Slabbert will explain, somehow, somewhere out of this process, it emerged that both recommendations no longer relate to the holding of the 2004 election as was envisaged in my request and in the terms of reference of the Task Team, but only applied of the 2009 election. It seems that consensus was reached within the Task Team that for the 2004 election the current system should apply, warts and all.
However, it is significant that in its report the majority took a view that floor crossing is not suitable and desirable in our specific context to promote democratic growth. Obviously this recommendation may become moot once the Third Amendment Constitutional Bill, now before Parliament, is enacted. There were also differences between the majority and minority view in respect of the role of provinces and the provincial electoral system. These are fundamental issues, which must continue to be debated within the whole of our society. These are not issues, which can be handled and settled by the political system alone, because they really affect the relationship between voters and their representatives, both nationally and at a provincial level. Therefore, it is very valuable that both majority and minority views are placed before you. The debate has now been moved forward or, differently put, is delayed for five years, as the new electoral law will only apply in respect of the 2009 elections and beyond. I hope that this period will be used to promote a genuine debate, which can promote genuine democracy.
The Report of the Task Team is available to the media and to the public. I have also made all the annexure and appendixes available to the media and to the public, including the two draft Bills proposed by the majority and the minority, as such documentation was originally available in the paginated and bound copy of the Report I received. Cabinet decided that what should be made available to the public should not be the actual paginated and bound Report, but each of its documents separately, hence this media briefing is presented with such material in such form.
I wish to thank Dr van Zyl Slabbert and all the members of the Electoral Task Team for the wonderful work they have performed. I want to thank the true democrats who participated in the work of the Task Team, to find ways and means to serve the cause of democracy, rather than merely following the dictates of party lines. Over and above, I wish to thank all the members of the Task Team, because in expressing different views they have given the opportunity to the whole of South Africa to continue this debate from where they left it. I also wish to thank the many people who provided a contribution in this process and I hope that all of us will ensure that their efforts and endeavours have not been in vain, which we can do by carrying forward and discussing further the many real and substantive issues they have raised. Finally, I wish to thank the many foreign governments and foreign institutions, which have provided generous financial and logistical assistance to the work of the Task Team.
With these few words, I wish to introduce to you Dr van Zyl Slabbert, requesting him to present to the media and to South Africa the report of his Task Team.
Issued by Ministry of Home Affairs
11 March 2003
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
Title: Buthelezi: Briefing at release of Electoral Task Team Report
MEDIA BRIEFING ON THE ELECTORAL TASK TEAM REPORT BY MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI, MP, MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND PRESIDENT OF THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY, Cape Town, 11 March 2003
Today's media briefing offers the opportunity for some broad-based analytical reflections on one of the most important features of our democracy. It is the point of arrival of a process, but it is also the beginning of what could be a new process of reflection and understanding on the weaknesses and strengths of our fledgling democracy. What is to be presented today is not a matter for party-political analysis. It should not be cast within the discourse of party politics. It is something fundamental, which affects our democracy and must be lifted above the views and desires of political parties, to finally become the rightful property of civil society.
Today we table the Report of the Electoral Task Team, which was established by Cabinet to deal with the electoral system of South Africa. Since I first promoted this initiative I have been deeply aware that the electoral system and laws of the country cannot be the expression of the views and desires of political parties alone. The electoral system represents a compact between voters and elected representatives. For this reason, it cannot be the expression of what political parties alone want, and this may be one of the few cases in which the political system is almost in a conflict of interests in writing the contract with the electorate in terms of which all the members of Parliament are to be employed.
Therefore, from the outset, my view was that of establishing a task team, which could lift the debate and the drafting of new legislation away from political tensions and truly reflect the needs of our democracy and the views of civil society. In my proposal to Cabinet, I chose Dr van Zyl Slabbert because he is a champion of civil society who knows intimately the weaknesses and traps of politics. He is also a true democrat and somebody who genuinely loves our country. My original proposal for the establishment of an electoral task team was submitted to Cabinet in time and with a view to drafting legislation, which could be applicable to the 2004 elections.
The processing of my Department's proposal for the establishment of an Electoral Task Team was delayed within the Cabinet process for almost one year, in spite of several pronouncements by the President that this matter would be finalised. At the end of this lengthy Cabinet process, which effectively endorsed and made my Department's proposal its own, with the rider that the consultation with political parties should be emphasised. I was finally in the position to give the green light to the establishment of the task team on March 20 of last year. Almost a year later, the work of the Electoral Task Team can finally be made public.
In the terms of reference which I gave the Task Team as its mandate, in accordance with the relevant Cabinet Resolution, was the formulating of the parameters of new electoral legislation and drafting a new Bill to apply to the scheduled national and provincial elections for 2004. Originally, I hoped that the Task Team could finalise its work by November last year, but this deadline became unattainable because of certain difficulties encountered within the work of the Task Team, of which Dr van Zyl Slabbert kept me apprised. In its work, the Task Team consulted extensively both with representatives of the political system as well as with civil society. It even consulted extensively with members of the media, in the hope that your papers would promote a public debate on the real issues relating to an electoral system. I was very disappointed that none of the papers bothered to run any extensive questionnaires or other means to test public preferences in respect of the many options which the Task Team brought to light, such as different types of constituency systems.
It organised a high-level international conference, which highlighted some of the best options available to South Africa to have a better electoral system. This high-level conference brought together some of the best experts, both domestically and internationally and some of South Africa's most important and significant stakeholders and role players. From this conference it emerged that the present electoral system is of good quality in respect of three of the four identified criteria, which the Task Team believed are necessary for a good electoral system in a South African context. The conference accepted that the present electoral system provides a sufficient degree of representativeness, fairness and simplicity. However, it pointed out that it falls short in respect of accountability. The conference pointed out that if the present electoral system is to be improved, elected representatives must become more accountable to the voters and less accountable to party leaders and party structures.
The findings of this conference vindicate the very reason for which Cabinet established the Task Team. By establishing the Task Team, Cabinet expressed the intention of producing for South Africa something better than what we now have, and more consonant with the levels of democracy we are trying to achieve. Our efforts in this sense were vastly supported by domestic and international donors who made available very significant financial and logistical resources for the work of the Task Team and the holding of the international conference. We were all united to give South Africa something new, which could be better. As the line-function Minister, I gave no direction to this debate. I did not table my personal preferences. I merely acted as a catalyst, providing a venue and a mechanism, which would enable the debate to take place.
The work of the Task Team was presented to me in January this year. It was bound in a complex document, which is meant to be an historical record of the work of the Task Team. In fact, as I understand it, in reporting, the Task Team wished to report not only to the nation and me as the Minister, or to Cabinet, but also to civil society in order to ensure that the debate could continue. For this reason, its paginated report contained as annexure and appendixes all the input material and a vast amount of background documentation, including academic papers and findings of scientific research. This documentation is of great value to anyone wishing to take further studies and discussions on the electoral system of South Africa and the conditions necessary to promote further levels of democracy in our country.
Dr van Zyl Slabbert will present the work of the Task Team in greater detail. I just wish to comment on the fact that the report was made richer by its outlining not only the view of the majority of its members, but also the view of those who did not agree with it, which is contained in a minority report. Simply put, the majority view was that the present system needs to be substituted by a better one, which promotes greater accountability, while the minority view was that the present system, should be maintained as it is. However, as Dr van Zyl Slabbert will explain, somehow, somewhere out of this process, it emerged that both recommendations no longer relate to the holding of the 2004 election as was envisaged in my request and in the terms of reference of the Task Team, but only applied of the 2009 election. It seems that consensus was reached within the Task Team that for the 2004 election the current system should apply, warts and all.
However, it is significant that in its report the majority took a view that floor crossing is not suitable and desirable in our specific context to promote democratic growth. Obviously this recommendation may become moot once the Third Amendment Constitutional Bill, now before Parliament, is enacted. There were also differences between the majority and minority view in respect of the role of provinces and the provincial electoral system. These are fundamental issues, which must continue to be debated within the whole of our society. These are not issues, which can be handled and settled by the political system alone, because they really affect the relationship between voters and their representatives, both nationally and at a provincial level. Therefore, it is very valuable that both majority and minority views are placed before you. The debate has now been moved forward or, differently put, is delayed for five years, as the new electoral law will only apply in respect of the 2009 elections and beyond. I hope that this period will be used to promote a genuine debate, which can promote genuine democracy.
The Report of the Task Team is available to the media and to the public. I have also made all the annexure and appendixes available to the media and to the public, including the two draft Bills proposed by the majority and the minority, as such documentation was originally available in the paginated and bound copy of the Report I received. Cabinet decided that what should be made available to the public should not be the actual paginated and bound Report, but each of its documents separately, hence this media briefing is presented with such material in such form.
I wish to thank Dr van Zyl Slabbert and all the members of the Electoral Task Team for the wonderful work they have performed. I want to thank the true democrats who participated in the work of the Task Team, to find ways and means to serve the cause of democracy, rather than merely following the dictates of party lines. Over and above, I wish to thank all the members of the Task Team, because in expressing different views they have given the opportunity to the whole of South Africa to continue this debate from where they left it. I also wish to thank the many people who provided a contribution in this process and I hope that all of us will ensure that their efforts and endeavours have not been in vain, which we can do by carrying forward and discussing further the many real and substantive issues they have raised. Finally, I wish to thank the many foreign governments and foreign institutions, which have provided generous financial and logistical assistance to the work of the Task Team.
With these few words, I wish to introduce to you Dr van Zyl Slabbert, requesting him to present to the media and to South Africa the report of his Task Team.
Issued by Ministry of Home Affairs
11 March 2003
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