Former minister Trevor Manuel said there was nothing that stops parties to make their candidates known before the country goes to the polls. File Picture .
Former Cabinet minister Trevor Manuel has urged political parties to let their candidates be known in public before the elections.
He was addressing the FW de Klerk Foundation annual conference in Cape Town on Friday when he said it was ironic that party bosses decided who the representatives of the people would be instead of allowing the people to hold local debates with the candidates, on matters affecting them.
South Africa is expected to hold elections in the next few months. President Cyril Ramaphosa is yet to announce the date for the elections.
However, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) will this weekend hold the final voter registration weekend before this year’s poll.
The IEC announced there were now more than 27 million people who were registered to vote this year.
The commission held the first registration weekend in November last year.
Manuel said party bosses cannot determine who the representatives of the people are.
Most crucial was that parties should make their representatives known in the public before the elections.
He said South Africans must get the public representatives they deserve.
“There is actually no prohibition on all reasonable political parties letting their candidate choices be known before the elections and society then setting the basis for local debates, which must include matters such as frequency of engagement and all the important questions of conscience and oath vs that matter called the party whip.
“The idea that party bosses alone determine who representatives of the people will be is funny. They determine who the representatives of the people will be. It has to be the most anti-democratic measure. Obviously, the same goes true for party bosses who can capriciously dismiss public representatives.
“I forget who they are. But it’s a frequent practice in some parties,” said Manuel.
Parties have already started with their campaigns ahead of the elections.
In the next few weeks they will be launching their manifestos.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
IOL Politics