Home Affairs NA Committee: Proposed amendments 04/08/98

Home Affairs NA Committee: Proposed amendments 04/08/98
AMENDMENTS TO ELECTORAL BILL [B69-98]: 04/08/98

CLAUSE 1
1. On page 10, after the definition of "agent" to insert:
"lists of candidates" means the lists of candidates referred to in section 26;

2. On page 10, from line 44, to omit the definition of "identity document" and to substitute:
"identity document" means any card issued in terms of, and identity document recognised as valid by the Identification Act, 1997 (Act No.68 of 1997), and includes a temporary identity certificate.

3. On page 10, after the definition of "identity document", to insert:
"municipal council" means a municipal council referred to in Chapter 7 of the Constitution;

4. On page 12, after the definition of "voter" to insert:
"voting district" means a voting district established in terms of section 59;
"voting station" means a voting station established in terms of section 63;

NEW CLAUSE
1. That the following be a new clause to follow clause 13:

General registration of voters
14. (1) For the compilation of the voters' roll, referred to in section 5, the Commission must conduct a general registration of voters.
(2) The Commission may prescribe cut-off dates in respect of the general registration of voters and the compilation of the voters' roll, including the date by which -
(a) any person who wants to be included in the compiled voters' roll must have applied for registration as a voter in terms of section 7 or for the change of registration details in terms of section 9;
(b) the chief electoral officer must notify a person in terms of section 12;
(c) an appellant must serve an appeal in terms of section 13;
(d) the Commission must consider and decide the appeal and notify the appellant and the chief electoral officer of the decision;
(e) the chief electoral officer must give notice of the periods during which and where a provisionally compiled voters' roll will be available for inspection;
(f) any objections in terms of section 15 in respect of a provisionally compiled voters' roll must be made;
(g) the Commission must decide an objection made in terms of
section 15 and notify the objector and the chief electoral officer and a person other than the objector whose name and registration details are involved; and
(h) the chief electoral officer must complete the compilation of the voters' roll and publish it.

Objections to voters' roll
15. (1) In relation to any segment of the voters' roll or a provisionally compiled voters' roll, any person may in the prescribed manner, lodge an objection with the Commission to -
(a) the exclusion of any person's name from that segment;
(b) the inclusion of any person's name in that segment; or
(c) the correctness of any person's registration details in that segment.

(2) A person who objects to the inclusion or exclusion of the name of another person, or to the correctness of that person's registration details, must serve notice of the objection on that person.

(3) The Commission must decide an objection and, except for an objection in relation to a provisionally compiled voters' roll, by not later than 14 days after the objection was lodged with it, notify the following persons of the decision:
(a) The person who lodged the objection;
(b) the chief electoral officer
(c) in the case of an objection against the inclusion or exclusion of the name, or the correctness of the registration details, of a person other than the objector, that other person.

(4) The chief electoral officer must give effect to a decision of the Commission in terms of subsection (3) within three days.

(5) No appeal may be brought against the Commission's decision, subject to section 20(2)(a) of the Electoral Commission Act.

Publication and copies of voters' roll
16. (1) A copy of the voters' roll as it exists at any time must be available for inspection during office hours at the Commission's head office and provincial and municipal segments of the voters' roll must be available for inspection at the times and places mentioned in a notice published by the chief electoral officer in the Government Gazette.
(2) The chief electoral officer must provide a certified copy of, or extract from, a segment of the voters' roll as it exists at that time, to any person who has paid the prescribed fee.

CLAUSE 14
1. On page 16, from line 26, to omit subclause (1) and to substitute:
(1) Whenever the President or Acting President calls an election of the National Assembly the proclamation concerned must set a single day and date for voting.

CLAUSE 15
1. On page 16, from line 32, to omit subclause (1) and to substitute:
(1) Whenever the President or the Premier or Acting Premier of a province calls an election of the provincial legislature the proclamation concerned must set a single day and date for voting.

CLAUSE 17
1. On page 16, in line 41, after "must", to insert "after consultation with the party liaison committee"

CLAUSE 19
1. On page 18, in line 17, to omit paragraph (b).
2. On page 18, in line 20, to omit "public".

CLAUSE 20
1. On page 18, from line 27, to omit subsection (2) and to substitute:
(2) A revote at a voting station must be -
(a) held on a date that would still fall within the period referred to in section 18(1)(b);
(b) publicised in the media considered appropriate so as to ensure wide publicity of the date determined for the revote; and
(c) conducted in accordance with a procedure prescribed by the Commission which is consistent with the principles provided for in Chapter 4.

CLAUSE 21
Clause rejected.

NEW CLAUSE
1. That the following be a new clause to follow clause 20:

Voters' roll for election
21. (1) The voters' roll, or the segments of the voters' roll that must be used for an election, are those as they exist on the day the election is proclaimed.

(2) By not later than the relevant date stated in the election time table, the chief electoral officer must certify the voters' roll or the segments of the voters' roll to be used in that election and publish it by making it available for inspection at the following places:
(a) At the Commission's head office, the segments for all voting districts in which the election will take place
(b) in each province, at the office of the Commission's provincial representative, the segments for all voting districts in the province in which the election will take place; and
(c) at the office of each municipality, the segments for all voting
districts in that municipality in which the election will take place.

CLAUSE 22
Clause rejected.

NEW CLAUSE
1. That the following be a new clause to follow clause 21:

Voters' roll for first elections of National Assembly and provincial legislatures
22. (1) Section 21 does not apply in respect of the first election of the National Assembly and the first election of a provincial legislature referred to in items 6(3)(a) and 11(1)(a) of Schedule 6 to the Constitution, respectively.

(2) The voters' roll that must be used for the elections referred to in subsection (1) is the voters' roll compiled by the chief electoral officer in terms of section 5 and published by that officer by the date referred to in section 14(2)(h).

CLAUSE 23
Clause rejected.

CLAUSE 24
Clause rejected.

CLAUSE 28
1. On page 22, in line 48, to omit "public".

CLAUSE 32
Clause rejected.

NEW CLAUSE
1. That the following be a new clause to follow clause 31:
Special votes
32. (1) The Commission -
(a) must allow a person to apply for a special vote if that person cannot vote at a voting station in the voting district in which he or she is registered as a voter, due to -
(i) his or her illness or physical infirmity or physical disability or her pregnancy; or
(ii) his or her absence from the Republic while employed in the service of the Government of the Republic; or
(iii) his or her absence from that voting district while serving as an officer or security officer in the election concerned.
(b) may prescribe other categories of persons who may apply for special votes.

(2) The Commission must prescribe -
(a) the procedure for applying for special votes; and
(b) procedures, consistent in principle with Chapter 4, for the
casting and counting of special votes.

CLAUSE 34
1. On page 26, in line 45, to omit "public".

2. On page 28, from line 8, to omit paragraph (b), and to substitute:

(b) had presented him or herself for voting at that voting station at the time prescribed for that voting station to close for voting.

CLAUSE 40
1. On page 30, from line 43, to omit subsection (2) and to substitute:

(2) A sealed ballot box must remain -

(a) sealed until opened for the counting of votes in terms of section 45(1); and
(b) in the voting station until the commencement of the counting of the votes.

CLAUSE 48
1. On page 36, from line 11, to omit subsections (2) and (3), and to substitute:

(2) Once the counting officer has complied with subsection (1), the counting officer must announce the provisional result at the voting station to members of the public and agents present at the voting station.

(3) Once the counting officer has complied with subsection (2), the counting officer must inform the Commission of the provisional result of the election at the voting station.

CLAUSE 55
1. On page 38, from line 39, to omit subsections (2) and (3), and to substitute:

(2) The determination and declaration of the result of an election must occur within seven days after the voting day, but not -

(a) sooner than 21:00 of the second day after the voting day or
(b) before all objections made under section 53 have been dealt with in terms of that section, other than an appeal to the Electoral Court in terms of subsection (5) of that section.

(3) The Commission may determine and declare the result of an election without having received the results of all voting stations if -

(a) to wait for the receipt of the result from every voting station would unduly and unreasonably delay the determination and declaration of the result of that election; and

(b) the outstanding results are not likely to materially influence the overall result of that election.

CLAUSE 57
Clause rejected.

CLAUSE 62
1. On page 42, in line 32, to omit "public".

CLAUSE 66(3)
1. On page 44, in line 40, to omit "public".

CLAUSE 81
1. On page 51, in line 50 of the Afrikaans text, to omit "ondersteun" and to substitute "hulp verleen".

CLAUSE 82
1. On page 53, in line 47 of the Afrikaans text, to omit "ondersteun" and to substitute "hulp verleen".

CLAUSE 99
1. On page 64, in line 4, after "regulations" to insert:

after consultation with the party liaison committee

CLAUSE 102
1. On page 64, in line 32, to omit the heading and to substitute:
Powers to decide objections and appeals

CLAUSE 104
1. On page 64, in line 46, to omit "to own" and to substitute "as owning".

CLAUSE 108
Afrikaans text of clause rejected.

NEW CLAUSE
1. That the following be a new clause to follow clause 107 of the Afrikaans text:

Verbod op uitgangspeiling
108. Niemand mag gedurende die voorgeskrewe ure vir 'n verkiesing die resultaat van enige uitgangspeiling in daardie verkiesing gedoen, druk, publiseer of versprei nie.

SCHEDULE 1
1. On page 70, from the twelfth line, to omit item 2 and to substitute:

Cut-off date for publication of voters' roll
2. By... [day/month/year], the chief electoral officer must publish the voters roll or the segments of the voters' roll to be used in this election as required by section 21(2).

2. On page 70, from the thirty-third line, to omit items 4, 5, 6 and 7.