Elections are important for democracy as they shape the party political system, serve as a tool for conflict management and influence how citizens participate in the electoral process and politics and the attitude towards voting.

This was according to Ahmed Kathrada Foundation head Neeshan Balton who was speaking during the launch of the Electoral Reform Campaign, by Defend our Democracy, in Johannesburg, on Monday, as the country prepared for 2024 general elections.

The campaign is calling on members of Parliament to reject the Electoral Amendment Bill and is calling for credible electoral reform that allows for greater accountability of elected representatives.

MPs are expected to vote on the Bill later this month.

The campaign argues that the current Electoral Amendment Bill is flawed.

Launched 18 months ago, the Defend our Democracy movement has launched various campaigns in the interest of protecting democracy in South Africa.

Advocate Mojanku Gumbi said the country had great hopes about what it could offer in 1994 and added that it was time to break from the past.

She said there was a reason why the country used a proportional arrangement type of elections at the time, as it allowed a number of voices to be heard at a national level.

She went on to remind delegates that the country was coming from a fractured past that required the breathing space to heal.

“As we moved on as a democracy, it became clear that the issue of accountability by our political parties fell by the wayside. We saw what happened when our politicians abandoned us as citizens as the democracy matured,” she said.

Gumbi stressed that the fundamental right to vote was used to change the country’s politics.

“Our country is crying out for accountability and there is no easy way to hold people accountable, as the current politicians have no regard for the ordinary people,” she added.

Political analyst Lukhona Mnguni added that there was a greater need to catalyse society as the country was at risk of politicians making cosmetic changes to the Electoral Act for their own preservation.

Mnguni said the electoral reform process was being hijacked “right before our eyes”.  

“Once more Parliament is working back our democracy by insisting on an unconstitutional Electoral Amendment Bill. Only the people can stop this rogue behavior,” added Mnguni.

He said civil society organizations had avoided premature litigation even when Parliament had strayed.

He said while the process was highly political it was also about the future of the country’s democracy and added that politicians should not be allowed to defer the necessary reforms to make the electoral system robust.