KZN has the highest number of by-elections in SA – IEC
27 February 2018
Durban – KwaZulu-Natal, where the Moerane Commission is currently investigating political killings, has the highest number of by-elections in the country, said the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
IEC provincial electoral officer Mawethu Mosery made the statement during his submission before the commission on Monday.
Answering a question from commissioner Cheryl Potgieter, Mosery said that KwaZulu-Natal had 50% more by-elections than any other province.
"Totals in other provinces are far less with around 50% more than the next province in terms of the number of by-elections."
He said that between 2011 and December 2017, 502 sitting councillors were replaced in the province and that political killings had been increasing in recent years.
"The numbers we have seen in the period of focus for this commission show fewer unnatural deaths between 2011 and 2015. However, numbers in 2015/16 shot up."
SA 'challenged by the quality of those in office'
Mosery said that of the 391 proportional representative councillor posts, 93 became vacant following the deaths of sitting elected representatives.
He added out of the 111 ward councillor seats, 31 became vacant as a result of the deaths of elected representatives.
Mosery said that from 2016, 19 deaths of councillors were recorded. He did not specify how many of these were proportional representative posts and ward posts.
"In a sense, this is something to be alarmed about regarding the political circumstances."
Speaking in his personal capacity, Mosery said he felt that more than qualifications, a high level of integrity was needed from those elected in public office.
"As a country, we are challenged by the quality of those in office. We need mature [people] to do things for the community and people."
The Moerane Commission will hear from Statistics South Africa on Tuesday.
The commission was established in October 2016 by Premier Willis Mchunu amid a high number of political killings in the province. Chaired by Advocate Marumo Moerane, the commission is investigating killings in the province since 2011.
