The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), has opened up candidate verification to the public, stating that citizens with objections to any candidate have until April 2 to lodge their complaints.
According to News24.com, a comprehensive list of all the candidates contesting in the elections this year, as presented by registered political parties, will be available to the public on the Commission’s official website today.
Making the announcement, the Commission’s spokesperson, Kate Bapela, said: “In terms of the election timetable, members of the public may object to the nomination of candidates until 5 pm on April 2, 2019. A link to download the candidate lists will be available on the IEC homepage at www.elections.org.za.”
While addressing the public, she noted that objections against candidates can only be considered if the candidates are unqualified, if there is no prescribed acceptance of nomination signed by the candidate and/or if there is no prescribed undertaking signed by the candidate, binding them to the IEC code of conduct.
The statement also mentioned that every citizen who is qualified to vote for the national assembly and/or provincial legislature is eligible to stand for election except:
- Unrehabilitated insolvents
- Anyone declared to be of unsound mind by a court of the Republic
- Anyone who is convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment without the option of a fine either in South Africa or outside the country if the offence would have been an offence if committed in South Africa. This disqualification ends five years after the sentence has been completed.
According to Bapela, over 10,000 candidates have been nominated in the upcoming national elections and over 8,000 for the provincial elections alone. This, she said, “is significantly more than the 2,089 candidates nominated for the national ballot and 6,562 candidates nominated for the provincial elections in 2014.”
Members of the public with objections or reservations about certain candidates have been advised to submit their statements to the national office of the IEC in
- The objector’s full names, address and contact details
- The full particulars (name, ID number and party) of the candidate/s being objected to
- The grounds for objection against the candidate/s
- Detailed supporting documentation supporting the objection (if any).
She also stated that the Commission will attend to all cases on or before April 8, after which all aggrieved parties will have until April 11 to appeal before the electoral court.
