SUMMARY OF CABINET RESOLUTION ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Issued by: Office of the President 1. The local government elections will proceed on 1 November 1995. The postponement of the elections would be highly undesirable for a number of reasons (see Evaluation of Options for the Postponement of Elections). 2. Serious attempts should be made to increase the number of local authorities and the overall percentage of the electorate participating in the election through inter alia the following measures: * Resolution of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan area internal boundary demarcation dispute; * Political solution of the Cape Metropolitan boundary dispute; * Delinking of the KwaZulu/Natal 46 Transitional Council areas from the Durban Metropolitan area boundary dispute and the disputes over the incorporation of tribal areas in certain parts of the province. 3. Elections will be staggered on local authority by local authority basis, and not a province by province basis (see Evaluation of Options for the Postponement of Elections). 4. Local authority areas not able to meet the 1 November 1995 election date will have to apply through the Premier of the respective Province to the Minister for exemption, with motivated reasons. Areas where no local authority presently exists (ie. rural areas), where an election cannot be held, should be included in arrangements for staggering of elections. 5. For both psychological and practical reasons, a date for elections for the exempted areas, which should be during the first quarter of 1996, should be set before the 1 November 1995 elections take place. The new date should be announced at the same time as the proclamation of the 1 November 1995 date. 6. Both the Constitution and the Local Government Transitional to allow for staggered elections. 7. Automatic dispute-resolution mechanisms, such as the special Electoral Court, within a particular time frame, will be established through an amendment to the Act to ensure that disputes to not continue indefinitely. MINMEC: 25 JULY 1995 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS TASK GROUP (ETG) AMENDED REPORT OF CO-CHAIRPERSONS AN EVALUATION OF OPTIONS FOR THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS 1. Problem Statement As a result of, inter alia: * boundary disputes; * political disputes between national and provincial government; * on-going negotiations between traditional leaders and provincial governments; * the lack of finalisation of rural models; * the absence or delay of necessary political decisions; * pending cases in the Supreme and Constitutional Courts; and * legal disputes and litigation in certain TLCs; the tight deadlines necessary to meet the objectives of holding "wall-to-wall" elections on 1 November 1995 cannot be met in all areas. 2. An Evaluation of Options to deal with the Problem 2.1 Option 1 : A Blanket Postponement of the Local Elections 2.1.1 Advantages 2.1.1.1 The intention of the authors of the LGTA and Chapter 10 of the Constitution was that local elections be held on the same day, and it may be problematic to re-negotiate this; 2.1.1.2 The Constitution and the Act provide for local elections to all take place on the saherefore not require an amendment to either of these; 2.1.1.3 Holding elections on the same day will provide a single day for a national "cleansing" of local government that will have a positive psychological effect on the nation. Staggering elections may diminish the impact of this; 2.1.1.4 A national delay will give provinces and transitional councils more time to prepare more carefully for the elections, with the result that the elections may have greater integrity and quality; 2.1.2 Disadvantages 2.1.2.1 The vast majority (75%) of transitional authorities who are ready for elections on 1 November will be forced to endure undemocratic and illegitimate councils for another 4-6 months because a small minority of councils are not yet ready to hold elections; 2.1.2.2 Rural areas, which are characterised by an almost total absence of local government, will have to wait another 4-6 months (or more) before rural local government structures are created and elected and can begin to address the needs of the almost 50% of the country's population that live in rural areas; will involve a substantial increase in the financial costs of these elections as a result of: i. having to once again open up registration to bring the voters' rolls up to date (in particular for those people who would turn 18 after 1 November), ii. having to extend the communication and voter education campaign by another 4-6 months, and to intensify this campaign to revive the interest of voters in local government and their enthusiasm for the elections, iii. the maintenance of the election administration structure, iv. retraining staff, v. escalating polling costs, in particular for ballot papers (the price of paper is increasing at an alarming rate) and voting stations equipment. 2.1.2.4 There will also be substantial additional costs entailed by a blanket postponement, including; i. The costs to national, provincial and local government of maintaining dedicated staff to focus on election tasks, staff who could be focused on the RDP and service delivery; ii. The exacerbation of the problems of local government brought about by a delay in the election of democratic councils that can move to implement the RDP at a local level and deal with fundamentally important issues such as the provision of services and the service charge boycott. (As long as elections loom, local politicians will be more concerned about contesting the elections than dealing with developmental problems); iii. The continued lack of capacity in rural areas to address the needs of rural people; iv. The deeper local government sinks into crisis and the longer people have to wait for legitimate local government to start addressing their needs, the less confidence people will have in the government and the nascent democracy. This could manifest itself in lower voter turnouts (and hence a lower level of legitimacy for the new local governments), the establishment of alternative structures to deal with community needs and a breakdown of law and order as people seek solution to their problems elsewhere; v. Political parties will have to incur further costs necessitated by a longer campaign period and a further period of time within which they will have to register their voters etc. 2.1.2.5 Local government in particular can ill-afford these costs at a time when in many parts of the country it is standing on the brink of collapse. 2.1.2.6 The government has committed itself to holding elections on 1 November and a blanket postponement will therefore cause a loss of confidence and credibility in the government, both locally and internationally; 2.1.2.7 If the principle of "wall-to-wall" elections is upheld now, it might be politically necessary to be consistent and uphold it in future (particularly if this principle is used to postpone elections in hundreds of areas that are ready for them). If local elections must wait until every area of the country is ready, this could entail a delay of many months, as there is no indication that the current disputes will be resolved in the next few months; Attention: New momentum that has been gathered around the local elections is focused on 1 November, and will be lost if there is a postponement into next year, 2.1.2.9 The voters have indicated their support and commitment to local government by registering in numbers and expectations are high that the elections will take place on 1 November. These voters should not be disappointed by an unnecessary postponement as this may lead to disappointment and disillusionment, or even conflict and violence; 2.1.2.10 If there is a blanket postponement, certain individuals and groups may exploit the opportunity presented by a deceleration of the process to institute legal action in respect of actions taken late, in a hurry, or in anticipation of amendments to the regulations, creating the possibility of further delays; 2.1.2.11 Many local and provincial government officials will be leaving on early retirement at the end of the year, thereby reducing the capacity these governments will have to manage and implement successful local elections; 2.1.2.12 Many of the "amalgamated" transitional councils have only been united in name and still have separate administrations, and elections are required to complete the desegregation of local government. 2.2 "Stagger" the elections 2.2.1 Advantages 2.2.1.1 Approximately 7 of the 9 provinces, roughly 3/4 of the urban and rural transitional authorities, will be democratised on 1 November 1995, involving 70% of all registered voters; 2.2.1.2 The critical problem of the almost total lack of local government structures in rural areas will be addressed in most of the country; 2.2.1.3 Staggering will be substantially cheaper than a blanket postponement (see 2.1.2.3 and 2.1.2.4); 2.2.1.4 The areas that are ready for elections will have the opportunity to democratise their councils because of political disputes in other provinces/areas; 2.2.1.5 There is no guarantee that an extension of time, even of 4-6 months, will be enough to solve every problem in every area, and elections should therefore take place where possible on 1 November; 2.2.1.6 Provinces will be able to divert resources away from problem areas that will be holding elections at a later date and concentrate those resources on dealing the practical, technical problems that will be experienced by the areas in the province that will be holding elections on 1 November. This is particularly important given the resource and capacity constraints being experienced in many provinces, particularly in rural areas; 2.2.1.7 As a corollary to 2.2.1.6, after 1 November most local authorities will have democratic councils, and national and provincial governments will be able to focus their energy and resources on the problem areas; 2.2.1.8 Most of the local authorities throughout the country will be able to begin the process of working with national and provincial government to implement the RDP and the Masakhane campaign; 2.2.1.9 The benefits of representative and democratic local government in most of the country will put pressure on outstanding areas to hold elections as soon as possible and may increase voter turnout; 2.2.1.10 The momentum that has been gathered around the elections will not dissipate and the enormous amount of human and financial resources and input into the elections will be optimised and therefore not be lost; 2.2.1.11 Experictions can be used to improve the quality of the elections that are postponed; 2.2.2 Disadvantages 2.2.2.1 The final step towards democracy will not be as clean and tidy as if the elections took place on the same day; 2.2.2.2 Staggering would require an amendment to the LGTA and the Interim Constitution to allow for elections to take place on different days; 2.2.2.3 If staggering entails an additional public holiday, this has financial implications for the country, although this is hardly likely to be justified on a provincial basis. 3 The basis of Staggering the Local Elections If staggering the elections is favoured, a choice will have to be made between the following three sub-options: 3.1 Staggering on a province-by-province basis 3.1.1 Advantages 3.1.1.1 In provinces where most of the areas will not be able to hold elections, it could create conflict if some areas are entitled to vote; 3.1.1.2 It may be easier for provincial governments to deal with all of their elections taking place on the same day; for example in terms of communications, training, assistance with polling arrangements etc. (Although it should be noted that this will obviously not be the case for the local authorities); 3.1.1.3 KwaZulu-Natal has indicated that piecemeal elections will not work in their province because the majority of the province will not be able to hold elections on 1 November. 3.1.2 Disadvantages 3.1.2.1 It will entail holding back elections in areas that are prepared for such elections, and who will not be affected by the fact that elections are not taking place in neighbouring councils; 3.1.2.2 Some provinces will be held back on the basis that only one or two of their councils cannot hold elections and effectively hold the rest to ransom (which defeats the object of staggering the elections); 3.1.2.3 It would be easier for provinces to first hold elections in unproblematic areas so that they can focus their attention and energies on problem areas; 3.1.2.4 Agents provocateurs may use this to disrupt elections in one area so that the elections in the entire province are postponed; 3.2 Staggering on a local authority-by-local authority basis 3.2.1 Advantages 3.2.1.1 All areas that are prepared for elections on 1 November will hold elections on that date, and will not be held back by any other councils, their province or the country as a whole; 3.2.1.2 Local democracy will be experienced as extensively as possible and as soon as possible across the country, serving as a boost to all other areas to hold elections; 3.2.1.3 Staggering within a province would enable provincial governments to first democratise and hence stabilise areas that are ready, and then focus their efforts on problem areas. 3.2.2 Disadvantages 3.2.2.1 If a province has only a minority of areas that are able to hold elections on 1 November, this could give rise to suspicion and conflict; 3.2.2.2 It may be logistically easier for provinces to hold all of their local elections on the same day; 3.2.2.3 The "band-wagon" syndrome may prevail, whereby the results in a local election affect the voting of those living in adjacent areas who hold elections at a later date. 3.3 Staggering on a flexible basis (i.e. a combination of 3.1 and 3.2 as practically necessary) There is a possibility of staggering the elections in certain areas on a provincial basis and other areas on a local basis: 3.3.1 Advantages 3.3.1.1 Provinces who have a majority of areas that cannot proceed on 1 November and feel strongly that the elections should be postponed for the entire province will be able to follow option 3.1; 3.3.1.2 Other provinces will not have to be held back because one or two areas are not ready for 1 November. 3.3.2 Disadvantages 3.3.2.1 Conflict may arise if areas feel that they, despite being ready for the elections, are being held back whilst others are allowed to proceed. 4 Recommended option 4.1 The Co-Chairpersons and the ETG strongly recommend the staggering of the elections as set out in paragraph 2.2. However there is not consensus regarding the basis of staggering. The Co-Chairpersons and most members of the Task Group support option 3.2. on the basis that elections should be held wherever possible on 1 November 1995, and only by exception should elections be held later in any area. 4.2 KwaZulu-Natal is strongly of the opinion that elections in that province should all take place on the same day. 4.3 Irrespective of the option decided upon, it is considered to be essential to introduce a statutory mechanism to ensure that elections take place in the problem areas as soon as possible after 1 November 1995, and to provide for a speedy way to overcome the issues which are currently making elections impossible in these areas on 1 November 1995. 4.4. Pressure to hold elections on 1 November 1995 should be maintained, and exemption granted only in specific cases on the basis of motivated applications. 4.5 The necessary amendments to legislation to make these proposals possible should be effected as soon as possible. 4.6 Media liaison and communication around the agreed option should be carefully handled to ensure that all councils remain under pressure to hold elections on 1 November 1995. To this end, the Government should make it clear that local government elections across the country are still scheduled to take place on 1 November 1995. However, it is recognised that there are certain cases where it is impossible to hold credible elections on 1 November 1995. Exemption will only be granted upon application and after it is clear that elections cannot take place in the specific area on 1 November 1995.