We, the undersigned organisations, express concern regarding the Minister of Home Affairs selection of individuals to the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel. 

The panel was accepted for appointment by the National Assembly on Thursday, though with noted objections from several parties. 

The nomination process for panelists was re-opened in December last year after the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs felt that the previous list submitted by Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was inadequate and needed "a greater pool of people with expertise in different electoral aspects including representation". 

This was despite the Minister already having missed the deadline set in law to have the panel established. 

What followed was an extremely rushed process where a new list of nine names was submitted by the Minister to the National Assembly for approval days before the assembly’s last sitting. 

This list is one that lacks adequate civil society representation. The previous list included highly skilled individuals from within civil society whose organisations have been researching and engaging on the issue of electoral reform for an extended period of time. 

The nominees who are now appointed include three individuals who served on the previous ministerial panel on electoral reform. These individuals all supported the 'minority view' on electoral reform in the 'Valli Moosa' panel. Their preferred option was largely against comprehensive constituency based changes, which would allow for greater accountability over elected representatives. 

The minority view of these individuals was ultimately accepted by the Minister for the running of the 2024 elections, instead of the majority view.  

It is deeply disappointing that individuals who have shown an unwillingness to engage on electoral reform with an open mind are being brought in yet again. This despite one of the additional criteria adopted in consultations between the IEC and the Minister being “people who demonstrated a willingness to explore options and solutions rather than hold fixed views in relation to democratic systems and electoral systems”. We question the motivation behind their selection. 

The panel, meant to have begun its work prior to the upcoming elections, is dominated by former government and IEC employees,  and will now have one year from election day to complete their work. 

We remain committed to engaging on the issue of electoral reform, both through the formal Parliamentary process and through our community engagements. The issue is critical to enhancing accountability and deepening democracy. 

For the 2029 national and provincial government elections, we want an electoral system that serves the best interests of the public. 

We urge all incoming National Assembly members after 29 May 2024 to apply their mind far more carefully than their predecessors to the issue of electoral reform.