Michael Beaumont, national chairperson of ActionSA, urges for a new electoral system that prioritises accountability and enhances the quality of South Africa’s public representatives. File Picture: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers
ActionSA has submitted a proposal to South Africa’s Electoral Review Consultation Panel (ERCP), advocating for the adoption of a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system.
This shift, they argue, will increase voter turnout, enhance the quality of public representatives, and foster greater accountability in South African politics.
For the past 30 years, South Africa has operated under a purely proportional representation system, which was initially designed to ensure inclusivity, following the end of apartheid.
However, according to ActionSA, the time has come to re-evaluate this model.
"South Africa’s national project now needs to move towards greater accountability and raising the bar on the quality of public representatives," said Michael Beaumont, national chairperson of ActionSA.
The party believes the current system has allowed for a disconnect between voters and their elected representatives, with many public officials more accountable to political party bosses than the people they represent.
To address this, ActionSA has outlined a comprehensive reform plan.
Key proposals include automatic voter registration for all South Africans at the age of 18, the introduction of compulsory voting, and direct elections for a range of public offices such as the Mayor, Premier, Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL), Member of Parliament (MP), President, and even the Head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
"When parties win or lose elections based on the quality of their candidates, we will raise the low bar on the standard of public representatives in South Africa," Beaumont emphasised.
ActionSA's proposal calls for the introduction of a Mixed Member Proportional system, which would allocate 300 National Assembly seats through regional multi-member constituency elections and 100 seats via proportional representation (PR) to ensure overall fairness.
The country would be divided into 60 geographic constituencies, based on the current districts and metros.
Moreover, Beaumont said voters would cast two ballots: one for candidates in their constituency and another for parties in the national election.
The party also recommends holding local government elections concurrently with national and provincial elections, aiming to streamline the electoral process and increase voter engagement.
A central element of ActionSA’s proposal is increasing voter participation. By making voting compulsory, the party hopes to address South Africa's worrying trend of low voter turnout.
"Currently, elections are being determined by a minority of eligible voters," said Beaumont.
"Compulsory voting is essential to ensuring that the government reflects the will of the majority of citizens."
ActionSA expressed confidence that these changes would mark a significant step forward for South Africa’s democracy, while also warning against hollow discussions on electoral reform.
“We are cautious about the political patterns in South Africa, which often avoid genuine accountability,” Beaumont said.
"Electoral reform has been a central issue going back to The People’s Dialogue and we will not allow another round of hollow talks on this matter to be headlined by the Instagram Government of National Unity.’’
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