Municipal elections present platform to scrutinise electoral system

THIS year South Africa is going to have local government elections. Local government elections are a  sacrosanct aspect of our liberal constitutional democracy. This is because local representatives are ideally ought to be easily accessible to their constituents. 

However, ink has been adequately spilled arguing contrarily to what ought to happen and what’s happening. It is imperative to have South Africans understand our electoral system lest they be subjected to politicians' verminous manipulation.

In 2024, South Africa held general elections and the ANC received 40.1% nationally. The party lost control of  their majority in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. This necessitated a government of national and provincial unity. 

As far as KZN is concerned, and for politicians' convenience, they argue that the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) should be governing the province.

Nevertheless, that’s not the case, unfortunately. This is because South Africa is not using a first-past-the-post electoral system. Instead the country uses a proportional representational system 

The combination of parliamentary and presidential systems further complicates matters. A political party having a majority of the seats can be out maneuvered by opposition parties because having a majority of seats doesn’t necessarily mean the party can form the government. The MKP in KZN is a good case study.  

This is because a political party can fail to negotiate with the opposition to convince them to vote for them to form a government.

Furthermore and hypothetically, had the ANC been outmaneuvered by the opposition through coming together to form a government, it would have not been rational for it to claim its right to form a government.

A party cannot form a government despite having a majority of the  seats but fails to secure 50+1. A political party can still have 50+1 but fail to have their candidate elected  head of state and the government if the  chief whip fails to subject their party members to party line when voting. 

It is for this reason previously the official opposition had filled their candidate although ANC have had 50+1. For this to happen, there must be cleavage and fortified factionalism within the party with 50+1.

Factionalism is innate in politics and it is for this very reason the presiding officers, nationally and provincially, reject secret ballots in particular if the governing party is divided on the particular matter being debated and voted on in the legislature. 

This was the case with former president Jacob Zuma's last motion of no  confidence in 2017. The ANC was polarised on whether to protect him against the motion and the then chief whip appeared weak to nudge the ANC parliamentarians to uphold the party line until the then general secretary, Gwede Mantase intervened. He  addressed the ANC parliamentarians to uphold the party’s decision. That narrowly save Zuma.

Accordingly, our proportional electoral system and our parliamentary -presidential mixture system complicates the majoritarian government thus having a majority doesn’t always necessarily mean the political party can form a government. 

Therefore, a weak governing party chief whip and irreconcilable factionalism and poor negotiation within the supposedly majority party can possibly make it fail to form the government.

There are no legal obligations that compel the opposition to allow the supposedly majority party to form a government. Opposition parties can, out of their own volition guided by their own principles, permit the supposedly majority political party to form the government. 

Although politics being centred on power and authority, this would hardly happen. Politicians can claim to be guided by the principle when they are still far from power or their numbers are incredible insignificant to influence the electoral outcome.  

Mlambo is a doctoral candidate at UCT.