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ELECTORAL LAWS AMENDMENT BILL: PARLIAMENTARY PROCESS BEGINS
- 27 October 2026
- Electoral Law
- SA Legal Academy
In anticipation of parliamentary hearings, the National Assembly’s Home Affairs Committee has issued a notice calling for written submissions on the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill. The deadline for input is 30 November 2026.
As SA Legal Academy reported at the time, the Bill was tabled on 3 September 2026. Given the timing, it is presumably intended to address issues with implications for general rather than municipal elections.
Whatever the case, among other things the Bill seeks to amend the 1996 Electoral Commission Act to:
- ‘provide for the mandatory deregistration of unrepresented parties that fail to annually renew their registration’
- ‘insert a provision regarding the eligibility of registered parties to contest elections’, and to
- change the composition of the Electoral Court.
Proposed amendments to the 1998 Electoral Act include:
- revised provisions on requirements to be met ‘for eligibility to apply for registration as a voter’
- limiting objections to the provisionally compiled voters’ roll only, and
- underscoring the authority of the Independent Electoral Commission in making a final decision on the response to an objection.
In addition, it is proposed that a 2000 Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act provision on ‘the eligibility of registered parties to contest elections’ should be revised.
According to a media statement on the 29 July 2026 Cabinet meeting at which the Bill was approved, once passed, enacted and operationalised the proposed new piece of legislation is expected to:
- ‘strengthen the electoral legislative framework’
- ‘enhance the administration and management of elections’, and
- ‘support’ measures intended to ensure that they are ‘free, fair and credible’.
Please click the links below for more information:
Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch
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