Ramaphosa slammed for ‘disguised campaign speech’

President Cyril Ramaphosa is under fire for Sunday night’s televised address calling on voters to exercise their democratic rights in this week’s elections. Legalbrief reports that he reflected on the achievements and challenges of his administration and praised the IEC for the integrity of the electoral process. He also cited the successful voter registration weekends, the organisation of overseas voting, and the diligent application of electoral laws. The election marks the seventh democratic vote since the end of apartheid, a milestone that Ramaphosa emphasised as a testament to the enduring principles enshrined in the Freedom Charter. ‘We will once again assert the fundamental principle, articulated in the Freedom Charter, that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people,’ he said. IoL reports that he highlighted key reforms in various sectors, efforts to combat crime and corruption, and the nation’s unified response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He also noted the significant strides made in rebuilding the economy, tackling youth unemployment, and addressing gender-based violence. ‘This is a campaign speech. Abuse of power by Cyril Ramaphosa,’ leader of Build One SA, Mmusi Maimane said on X. And Geoffrey York, the Africa correspondent for The Globe and Mail, said Ramaphosa commandeered the national television channels ‘to give a last-ditch campaign speech, disguised as a presidential ‘address to the nation’.

The IEC says it is preparing for an increased voter turnout on Wednesday for the most closely contested general elections since 1994. Legalbrief reports that an estimated 160 organisations with 5 000 observers from around the world, will witness and validate the poll process. They include the AU, the Carter Centre Democracy Programme and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo told the Sunday Times that all indications are that the voter turnout will surpass the 66% recorded in the 2019 elections. So far, 56 800 votes have been cast at 111 foreign missions around the world, and more than 1.6m people are eligible to cast special votes today and tomorrow. Voting stations on Wednesday are scheduled to open at 7am and close at 9pm. Mamabolo urged voters to be patient. He said they should view the event as a celebration and perhaps bring camping chairs to the polling stations to avoid standing in long queues. ‘I expect an improved voter turnout compared to 2019. It’s a confluence of factors – the heightened awareness, the intensive campaigns by political parties and independent candidates, as well as the dynamics in the political environment and the introduction of new players into the political equation.’

The IEC has printed more than 90m ballots and voters will be presented with three ballot papers – the national compensatory ballot for political parties and the regional and provincial ballots for parties and independent candidates. The Sunday Times notes that the national ballot will consist of a list of political parties vying for 200 seats in the National Assembly. There are 52 parties on this ballot paper and the configuration will be dual column. The regional ballot papers will list political parties and independent candidates contesting for the other 200 seats in the National Assembly. Seats are reserved for each province. The number of contestants ranges from 30 to 44 on regional ballots. The configuration is single column. The provincial ballot paper is unique to each province and includes parties and independent candidates competing for seats in provincial legislatures. It will allow voters to choose either a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in their provincial legislatures. The number of contestants ranges from 24 to 45 on the provincial legislatures ballots.