The South African Constitutional Court declared Thursday June 11, 2020 that the Electoral Act No. 73 of 1998 in its current form is unconstitutional.

The case was mounted by the New Nation Movement NPC and Others against the President of RSA and Others in view of the Electoral Act barring independent individuals to exercise their democratic rights to compete for public office.

In its landmark wording, the Constitutional Court ruled:

“The Electoral Act is unconstitutional to the extent that it requires adult citizens to be elected to the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures only through membership of political parties.”

This ground-breaking judgement will make it permissible for independent candidates to campaign and vie for elections forthwith. In essence, hopefuls can stand for elections without being attached to a political party in any way or shape as per traditional.

As the ruling stands, it affects the local and general national elections in SA. That means any person willing to contest for elections within the bounds of South Africa will be able to do so.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the custodian of the Electoral Act, has embraced the monumental historic judgement.

The ruling could not have come at a better time for individuals willing to enter the elections and challenge for power. Just next year [2021], local or municipal polls will be held across the provincial territories in the country. Local elections affect the people directly since they focus on issues on the doorstep of where people reside.

That said, the government has been granted a period of two (2)years to amend the constitution of the country by the apex court.