Nzimande calls for overhaul of electoral system
Johannesburg – The country’s proportional representation system is dangerous and gives political parties too much power, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande said on Thursday.
“If your political party has factions and you come with a list of MPs which is factional, that is a danger and a threat. That is why we should open the debate on whether we need a mixed system,” Nzimande told Cosatu’s Gauteng shop stewards council at the Johannesburg city hall.
The electoral system should combine PR, which allows parties to select its Members of Parliament, with a constituency-based system that allows voters to directly elect MPs.
Nzimande’s comments come ahead of the vote of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma. Opposition parties, led by the UDM, have asked the Constitutional Court to allow MPs to vote by secret ballot. This would protect ANC members who want to vote against the party line. The ANC had already warned its members against voting for Zuma to go.
The SACP has called for Zuma to step down. Several ANC MPs are SACP members. Opposition parties and civil society have called on ANC MPs to defy the party and vote with their conscience.