Parties reject EFF proposal to abolish by-elections

Calls to do away with by-elections to replace a ward councillor who has died or resigned are misguided and opposed to the democratic principle that a public representative must be elected by the public.

That is the view of opposition parties pushing back against calls by EFF leaders to do away with by-elections to replace ward councillors who have died or resigned.

The parties argued that public representatives are elected by the public, and that should not change. Dr Lilian Managa, an EFF leader, spoke of the party's proposal for electoral reforms.

She stated in a radio interview that abolishing by-elections could curb violence associated with the scramble to become a councillor.

Managa reiterated that the EFF calls for the abolition of by-elections and for political parties to replace their representatives in the event of resignation or death, in the same manner as the proportional representation (PR) system operates. This change would also help curb political violence driven by ambitions to become councillors. But opposition parties said this proposal runs counter to democratic principles.

ACDP councillor Rienus Niemand emphasised the importance of remembering that ward councillors are elected based on their popularity within their communities.

“Very interesting situation (the proposal). When democracy is threatened by violence or intimidation, it is a clear indication of the state of that particular democracy. Ward councillors, much more so than PR councillors, are elected on their personal popularity, reputation, and work ethic. The individual person is judged in the case of a ward candidate, whereas with the PR, the electorate often does not even know who the PR candidates are.

“It is therefore abundantly clear that removing the choice from the voting public undermines our democracy. The excuse of it lessening the chances or incidents of violence is a red herring. What should be done is for the authorities to increase protection for candidates. Democracy must be protected by all means possible for it to survive. Intimidation cannot and must not be bowed to. The ACDP supports maximum choice opportunities to be given to the electorate,” he said.

ActionSA leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Zwakele Mncwango, stated that the party firmly rejects the proposal to abolish by-elections for deceased or resigned ward councillors. He argued that this proposal is fundamentally flawed and inconsistent with the core principles of democratic representation.

“Ward councillors are directly elected by voters, not deployed through proportional representation party lists. In many instances, communities vote for the individual candidate they trust rather than merely the political party that nominated them. To allow parties to replace ward councillors without returning to the electorate would therefore undermine the will of the people and erode democratic accountability at the most local level of governance,” he said.

Mncwango added that the claim that abolishing by-elections would reduce political violence lacks both logic and factual grounding. He pointed out that evidence, including findings from the Moerane Commission in KwaZulu-Natal, demonstrates that most political killings arise from intra-party conflict over positions and access to state resources, not competition between different political parties.

“Even in a system without by-elections, disputes over who should be nominated as a replacement would remain—and could still result in violence. Removing by-elections would therefore not address the root causes of political killings. Instead of weakening democratic processes, South Africa should be strengthening electoral integrity, internal party democracy, law enforcement, and accountability for political violence,” said Mncwango.

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