The Electoral Commission is the
registrar of political parties. Currently, there are 609 registered political
parties, of which 383 are registered on a national level while the balance of
226 are either registered provincially or on municipal level.
There are a number of benefits
that accrue from registration as a party. These are, among others, that the
political party is entitled to protection by the Commission of its full name,
abbreviation of its name, and its logo or symbol. In return, certain obligations
are imposed on registered parties. Among those is that a party that is not
represented in a Municipal Council, Provincial Legislature or the National
Assembly must indicate to the Commission its continued existence. This
prescribed indication must be received before the end of January each year.
The register of parties
currently contains the names of one hundred and ninety-two (192) political
parties that:
(a) are not represented in any
legislative body,
(b) have not contested general
elections since they were registered,
(c) had not renewed their
registration by 31 January 2025.
The Electoral Commission has, in
terms of section 17 of the Electoral Commission Act 51 of 1996, given due
notice, in writing, to the 192 political parties of its intention to cancel
their registration. These parties have until 24 March 2025 to make
representations.
Given increased contestation in
elections and the ever-increasing entrance of new political parties, it is
crucial that the register of parties is kept current and those parties with no
intention of contesting future elections are de-registered. It is also
important to correct the artificial size of the register and avoid unnecessary
confusion for voters. Moreover, the cancellation of inactive parties will free
the usage of names, abbreviated names and colour schemes for the logos of
aspirant real contestants.
The list of political parties
that have been issued with notices can be found at this link:- https://www.elections.org.za/content/Documents/Notices-and-Tenders/Notices/List-of-political-parties-that-have-been-issued-with-notices/
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Ensuring free and fair elections
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