Interim Statement: EISA Observer Mission to the 2009 South African National & Provincial Elections

Johannesburg, 24 April 2009

Introduction

The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) was invited by the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa to observe the country's National and Provincial elections scheduled for 22 April 2009. Accordingly, EISA deployed an Observer Mission to these elections. The Mission has made the assessment of the election and its preliminary findings and recommendations are presented in this interim statement. EISA will produce a more comprehensive and final report on the entire election process. This will provide an in-depth analysis, detailed observations as well as recommendations for further consolidation of South Africa's democratic governance within the next three months. EISA will continue to follow the process to its completion, including the announcement of final results so as to evaluate the overall post-election phase. EISA believes that elections are not an end in themselves, but a process that requires refinement along the way. That is why EISA uses an electoral cycle approach in its observation ensuring that all stages of the elections are observed adequately namely (a) the pre-election stage; (b) the polling stage; and (c) the post-election stage. Members of the EISA Mission started arriving in Johannesburg, South Africa on 15 April 2009 and observed the electoral process until 23 April 2009.

On behalf of the entire EISA Election Observer Mission, I, as the Mission Leader and my Deputy would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the people of South Africa for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to the Mission.

Mission Composition

The EISA Election Observer Mission to South Africa is composed of 34 persons from Nigeria, Lesotho, Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Angola. The Mission was led by Professor Ade Adefuye Senior Governance Advisor at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The mission's composition was drawn from civil society organisations (CSOs), academics and election management bodies from all the regions of the African Continent. The Deputy Mission leader was EISA's Programmes Director, Dr. Khabele Matlosa.

Deployment

A total of fifteen (15) EISA teams were deployed in all the nine provinces of South Africa as follows. There were four teams in Kwazulu Natal, two teams each in Eastern Cape, Gauteng and the Western Cape and one team each in the Free State, Limpopo; Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West.

We were able to visit a total of 234 polling stations throughout the country. We covered selected rural and urban areas in the areas where they were deployed.

Method of Work

In order to accommodate the need for a holistic approach to election assessment, EISA conducted various activities covering the pre-election, the polling and the post-election phases. The assessment methodology includes the following activities:

Election Update

As part of its pre-election assessment, EISA engaged researchers in all the nine provinces of South Africa to gather relevant information and produce Election Update 2009: South Africa. About ten volumes of the update covering the three phases of the election will soon be published. By the time of the elections, some of these updates were already available on the EISA website at www.eisa.org.za/EISA/publications/eu2009.htm

Stakeholder Meetings and Political Party Rallies

In the period leading up to and including the polling period, members of the mission consulted with various electoral stakeholders including representatives of the IEC, civil society organisations, the media, political parties and other observer missions (domestic and international). Meetings were held at the national and provincial levels. Other meetings were held at municipal level with representatives of the IEC.

Findings of the Mission

The EISA Election Observer Mission, basing itself on the EISA/ ECF Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO), as its benchmark, made the following findings:

Overall Context of the Elections

The 22 April 2009 National and Provincial elections in South Africa took place against the backdrop of growing disenchantment with the capability of African countries to hold credible and peaceful elections. Recent major setbacks in election management have been witnessed in Nigeria (2007), Kenya, (2007) and Zimbabwe (2008). Ghana (2008) has, however, been a recent example of good election management in Africa.

The 2009 South African elections build upon the three successful competitive elections successfully held in 1994, 1999 and 2004. Local government elections are held separately and thus far the country has held three such elections (1995, 2000 and 2006). Since those elections, the country has enjoyed political stability and has been seen as a standard bearer for democracies in Africa. The political climate changed in 2008 with the recall of President Thabo Mbeki by the governing African National Congress (ANC) and the emergence of new political opposition in the form of the Congress of the People (COPE). These political developments re-ignited political interest in the electorate as evidenced by the high number of new voters, particularly young voters who registered to vote, as well as the vibrancy and competitiveness of the electoral campaign

Stakeholders expressed the hope that members of the South African electorate would demonstrate their faith in the sustainability of democracy and peace by casting their votes on Election Day peacefully and in large numbers.

The Constitutional and Legal Framework

The main instruments governing the conduct of elections in South Africa include:

Electoral Act, 73 of 1998
Electoral Commission Act, 51 of 1996
Public Funding of Represented Political Parties Act, 103 of 1999
Independent Broadcasting Authority Act, 153 of 1993

One of the dominant characteristics of the political system in South Africa has been the adoption of the proportional representation electoral system. The inclusive nature of this system, which does not provide for a formal minimum threshold, guarantees the participation and representation of minority and disadvantaged groups, including women. The constitutional and legal framework in South Africa guarantees fundamental freedoms and human rights. In addition, the Electoral Law provides for mechanisms to address conflict in the electoral process. This framework contributed to creating an environment conducive to successful elections.

The Campaign Process

The election campaign was generally calm and orderly. It allowed all parties to convey their messages to the electorate without any form of open intimidation. Though the incidence of electoral violence was not as high as in the past, there were incidents of political intolerance and conflict in Kwazulu Natal between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and between ANC and COPE and ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) in other parts of the country. Incidences of political intolerance and pre-election conflicts ran counter to the letter and spirit of the code of conduct which parties contesting the elections signed at national and provincial level.

The mission also noted several instances of hate speech and trading of insults between the ANC and members of other parties notably the DA, IFP and COPE which exhibit disturbing signs of intolerance.

Voter Registration and Voter's Roll

From its consultative meetings with stakeholders ahead of elections, the Mission learnt that a voter registration exercise was conducted in November 2008 and February 2009. Voters continued registering at IEC offices until the official declaration of the election date. The mission was impressed by increase in the number of registered voters which brought the total to 23 181 997 representing 80% of those qualified to vote. This was an impressive number of people registered to cast their vote. A majority of those registered were youth and women. The IEC managed the voters' roll with efficiencv and utmost competency. In managing the electoral process, the IEC consulted regularly with the parties through the Party Liaison Committees.

Civic and Voter Education

The mission took positive note of various voter education and information programmes undertaken throughout the country in order to enhance participation and encourage voters to make an informed choice. We commend the excellent work done by the IEC and various civil society organizations in mounting civic and voter education programmes which went a long way in empowering the electorate.

Political Material on Election Day

Our mission observed that in many polling stations political parties displayed their campaign material in the perimeter of the station and some voters wore party political regalia. Although this practice is not against the electoral law, it runs counter to international standards for credible election as it is tantamount to campaigning.

The Media

The mission commends the South African Broadcasting Cooperation (SABC) for organising political party debates thereby providing platforms for party aspirants to discuss key issues of concern to voters. This helped to diffuse some of the pre-election tension that could have disturbed the electoral process. More importantly it shifted the focus of the campaign from a regional, ethnicity and personality oriented process to an issue based one.

Gender Equality

Our teams noted that women were involved in the electoral process at all levels most notably in the election management structures. Though the electoral system does not discriminate against women in a significant way and, in fact, makes access to political power easier for women, few of the major parties have quotas for the equitable inclusion of women on their party lists. The number and proportion of women on the lists is at the discretion of the political parties. However, the mission was pleased to note that women make up a high percentage of the number of registered voters.

The Voting Process

South Africans living abroad were allowed to exercise their democratic right to vote. This was an important milestone in expanding the frontiers of South Africa's democracy. Special groups of the electorate, including the physically infirm, elderly, pregnant women, were allowed to cast their ballot through a special vote. The South African experience of external voting and special vote should serve as an inspiration for other African countries in democracy building.

EISA teams observed voting operations from the beginning at 07h00 until the close at 21h00. The teams observed a high voter turnout such that in some stations people returned home with a plan to return later in the day. The voters were calm and in a jovial mood. In some areas, voting was disrupted by the shortage of ballot papers and ballot boxes as well as the election officials attending to the voters who were voting at the polling station where they were not registered.

The Counting Process

The EISA Teams noted that in some instances, election officials did not demonstrate adequate understanding and application of the counting procedures which caused substantial delays. Procedures were not applied uniformly. For instance, some polling stations used one ballot box for ballots of both national assembly and provincial legislatures. The ballot box seals were also not applied uniformly.

Results Operations Centres

The establishment of the National Results Operations Centre in Pretoria helped to enhance the transparency and integrity of the electoral process. The IEC also established Results Operation Centres in all the nine provinces thereby opening the process to scrutiny of the parties, media and the electorate at large. These centres facilitated smooth relay of results from polling stations. The Results Operations Centres were well equipped and accessible. The streaming of the results as they came into the results centre also enhanced credibility and integrity of the elections.

Conflict Management

The provision by the IEC of conflict management training for electoral staff and conflict mediators coupled with the presence of the security forces, contributed to the conduct of peaceful election. We commend the deployment of extra police forces in Kwazulu-Natal where conflict had been looming since the pre-election period. We also note and commend the tolerance shown by voters and party supporters.

Areas for Improvement and Recommendations

In the early campaign period, there was evidence of intolerance, hate speech, obstruction and intimidation. This is an area that needs to be improved in order to maintain and consolidate electoral democracy in South Africa.
The possibility offered to voters to cast their ballots at any voting station in their province caused disruption given that the IEC could not anticipate how many voters would show up at a given polling station. Adequate provision should be made for this.
The IEC should consider increasing the number of polling stations in order to cater for large numbers of registered voters
The shortages of election material on Election Day demonstrated that planning should take into account the maximum number of people who may vote.
The ballot boxes should be translucent in order to increase transparency. The election officials should ensure that there are at least two ballot boxes per polling station so that national and provincial ballots are not mixed up.
There should be clearer guidelines on counting of ballots and training should be adequate to allow election officials to fully understand and apply these procedures.
The electoral law should be amended with a view to disallow parties to display their material and posters around polling station and voter should be disallowed to wear party political regalia around polling stations.

Conclusion

Overall this election was a credible exercise held in accordance with the PEMMO and other internationally accepted electoral standards and good practices. The people of South Africa demonstrated their belief and confidence in the democratic process by turning out in their large numbers to exercise this franchise. The overall atmosphere at the polling stations was peaceful. Queues were long but orderly. Security agents were visible, but not obtrusive or intimidating. Overall, the secrecy of this ballot was assured.

The IEC deserves to be congratulated for demonstrating high levels of professionalism. For the first time since 1994, South Africans living abroad were given the opportunity to vote and adequate arrangements were made for the old, infirm, pregnant, physically challenged to cast their vote. Though there were some lapses, this did not affect the overall credibility of the exercise. The mission believes that the results that will be declared by the IEC will be a reflection of the will of the South African people. We congratulate the IEC, political parties and the people of South Africa and all electoral stakeholders for the successful conduct of the 2009 National and Provincial Elections.

We are aware that as of now, the process has not been concluded. We hereby appeal to all the stakeholders to resort to the constitution as a way of resolving whatever disputes may arise.

Professor Ade Adefuye, Mission Leader
Dr Khabele Matlosa, Deputy Mission Leader

Contact Persons
Belinda Musanhu +27 72 306 45 58 or belinda@eisa.org.za
Yvette Ondinga +27 79 139 22 85 or yvette@eisa.org.za