Statement by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General
23 July 2021
GOOD’s submission to the electoral inquiry conducted by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke was that the local government elections should proceed in October 2021.
We made that submission because the Constitution requires regular elections, and is prescriptive about the length of a term of office, and because we were of the opinion that the elections could be free and fair, GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron said.
We nevertheless accept that Judge Moseneke had the difficult task of advising the IEC on whether the elections could be free and fair in the context of the Covid pandemic, and that he considered the views of a large number of people, including health experts and independent election monitoring groups.
We therefore accept his conclusion that it is possible, or even likely, that the elections may not be free and fair if they proceed in October 2021.
We remain committed to the supremacy of the Constitution and that the foundation of our democracy is fixed terms of office and regular elections that are always free and fair.
GOOD has been preparing for these local government elections and will continue to do so as if the elections are going ahead in October. We are mindful that the elections can only be postponed if the Constitutional Court accepts that it has the jurisdiction to make such an order.
While the Voter Registration Weekend planned for next weekend has now been cancelled we urge all South Africans over the age of 18 to register to vote or to check their registration, by using the innovative online registration process where possible. The feedback we have received is that the online registration process is working well, is simple and can even be done from a smartphone.