Programme Director
The Mayor of the Johannesburg City Council, Mr Masondo
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
MECs present today
Commissioners of Chapter 9 Institutions
Leaders and Representatives of Political Parties
Representatives of various media
Distinguished guests
Colleagues,

In the early 1990s, many African countries embraced the principle of multi-party democracy and recognised that at the core of this principle is the fact that the legitimacy and credibility of governments is established through free and fair elections. These winds of change that swept across this continent were also felt in other parts of the world, like the Soviet Union and South America.

Since the beginning of this period, a number of countries committed themselves to holding elections. This was a great achievement compared to a few years before when many countries on this continent were dominated by single-party governments or military dictatorships. Only a few countries out of 54 in Africa are not holding regular elections, or under military rule or still one-party states. We are certain that these countries which have not yet embraced the principles of democracy will soon do so. The consolidation of democracy in this continent can now only be entrenched. We are very proud of the strides the continent has made in this regard.

We do recognise that some of the new democracies in Africa are still too fragile and face many structural and political challenges. These challenges make the consolidation and deepening of democracy not a given fact but something that needs vigilance, engagement and support.

South Africa is one of these new democracies mentioned above. It is only in 1994 that we held our first democratic elections. We always refer to these elections a miracle because of the stability that they brought to the nation. Fourteen years have passed and we are still celebrating and reminiscing the pleasant experiences emanating from the success of those elections. There are many other countries around the world that are celebrating their emancipation. I have, for instance an invitation from the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the 18th anniversary of the German Unification.

A number of countries around the globe, including South Africa have set up independent electoral management bodies as way of building trust and confidence in their electoral processes and to ensure that those processes foster consolidation of democracy through an open and transparent competition for public office and state power. I would like to assure you that the Electoral Commission of South Africa has been built on solid foundation that would stand the test of time. It is an independent body whose independence is guaranteed under Chapter 9 of the Constitution. The Electoral Commission is not accountable to the Executive but to Parliament.

One of the cornerstones of our independence as the Electoral Commission is entailed in its funding. The Commission is entitled to receive adequate funding as is reasonably required to perform its constitutional mandate effectively.

We want to assure all South Africans that the unfortunate trend which has happened in other countries where governing parties temper with or manipulate the election process in order to distort results in their favour will not happen in South Africa. In our elections, there will never be political compromises that do not reflect the clear outcome of the elections.

We as the Electoral Commission are proud of our contribution to the establishment of a common voters' roll, a national unifying symbol that has details of each and every South African registered voter. The voters' roll was first established in 1998 and at that time had 18 million voters. There are currently 21 million voters on our voters' roll. Our aim for the 2009 elections is to increase this figure to 22 million voters. We shall always aim at maintaining an updated and reliable voters' roll and shall also continue constantly registering voters, in fulfilment of our mandate.

We are also proud of the co-operation we have received from political parties and the role they have played. Political parties in South Africa have contributed immensely to the entrenchment of democracy in this country through their vibrant and dynamic campaigns and engagements with the Electoral Commission, their followers and with each other. We hope such standards of engagement define the outcome of our democracy in the future. We are confident that our political parties will continue to engage with the voters' and express their interests as they have done in the past, before, during and after the elections.

The funding of political parties will be a challenge for all of us for many years to come. Maybe time has come for political parties to create a common party fund administered by an independent body. This independent body would have clear criteria that would be agreed upon by the parties. I am certain without doubt that private companies would prefer to make a donation to a common fund than to a political party. This is something that we might all want to explore.

We have designed and developed different but effective approaches to civic education. Civic education remains our flagship programme that seeks to inform our citizens of constitutional democracy. To achieve this, we are partnering with civil society organisations in mobilising our citizens to embrace our constitutional values. Our aim is, to quote our Constitution, to: "Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations."

We have recently established a Research and Knowledge Management unit. This unit is imperative for the Commission as it will help in policy formation and also advise and identify initiatives that the Commission needs to undertake to improve its effectiveness.

We are deeply concerned though over low levels of registration and voting among younger people. There are several explanations for low voter turnout amongst the young people. One of these is that the lifestyle of the youth of our country requires them to prioritise their studies, careers and relationships over and above civic responsibilities. Political parties and their leaders have failed in addressing this matter with their young supporters. On the other hand, the youth believes that the political system has failed to attend to their needs. I recommend that after the 2009 elections, the Political Party Liaison Committees, the IEC and representatives of the youth should establish a joint project that will resolve this problem.

The Electoral Commission has played a significant role in entrenching electoral democracy in other countries. We have established relationships with electoral management bodies in other countries on the continent and elsewhere and have participated in observing elections and in technical assistance initiatives in some countries on the continent. We expect our role especially on the continent to increase even more as more and more countries begin to embrace electoral democracy.

In conclusion, we believe that strong participation on elections helps to build confidence in democratic institutions. We will remain part of a long term dynamic social process committed to managing credible, free and fair elections at all times. We will remain faithful to our parties in civil society, political parties, media and all other institutions represented here. We also wish to emphasise our commitment to transparency, democracy and human rights.