South African voters will face a bewildering number of choices when they vote in the National Elections next year with a whopping 354 parties already registered with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
In answers to written questions put to the IEC by the Echo, a spokesperson indicated that more parties could still register and even do so after the ruling party announces the date for the next elections in 2024. She added that it takes at least two months for registration with the IEC to be completed – and that would depend on all of the correct forms being submitted and all conditions for registration being met.
This is a massive increase in the number of parties that contested the 2019 National Elections where the spokesperson said there were 48 parties registered with only 39 actually taking part in the 2019 National Elections.
In the 2019 election, only 18 of the 48 parties had published an official manifesto – a document that lays out the party’s vision for the country and specific promises of their intentions. Of these, only 13 parties mustered a sufficient number of votes to gain any seats in South Africa’s 400-seat parliament.
By law, the National Elections must take place between mid-May and mid-August 2024, but the middle of winter is not the best time to get voters out to the polling stations. Judging by previous elections, mid-May to the first week in June is the more likely time with the official proclamation of election date being made towards the end of February.
