ActionSA overwhelmed by the response to our ground-breaking candidate election system
4 May 2021
Last month ActionSA unveiled its ground-breaking Candidate Election System, based on the concept of Direct Democracy. For the first time in South Africa’s democratic history, voters will directly elect the candidates they want to represent ActionSA on the ballot paper in the upcoming Local Government Elections.
This week we are launching the second phase of our awareness campaign in Gauteng, starting with the release of our new promotional video.
Since the launch of the system, we have been overwhelmed by the response from both candidates and prospective candidates alike. South Africans from every walk of life are embracing a new and more accountable way of electing representatives who will fight for the wellbeing of their communities. With over 12,000 unique voters and 2,000 candidates already registered on the system so far – with numbers growing daily – our people are showing that they are readying for change.
As part of their application process, ward candidates are expected to canvass the support of 500 residents from the ward in which they are standing, while PR candidates have to canvass the support of 500 residents from their municipality.
One candidate based in Ekurhuleni recently demonstrated the power of our Direct Democracy initiative when she hosted a registration day at her home. Long lines of community members safely queued outside her home to endorse her as a potential candidate for her ward, reminiscent of the enthusiasm that many of us felt when we voted for the first time in 1994.
Our system is disrupting the political landscape in South Africa by ensuring that our candidates are directly accountable to their communities first, and ActionSA second. This is in stark contrast to established political parties in South Africa that decide on candidates based on their political connections and other nefarious ties.
Unlike the closed systems used by established political parties, any eligible voter is able to participate in our Candidate Elections, subject to them registering on our online portal. They do not need to be members of ActionSA.
Registration is currently open, with both prospective candidates and voters able to register at https://vote.actionsa.org.za/. Registration will be open for candidates until the 21st of May, and for voters until the 7th of June. The Candidate Elections will take place during the week of 14 June.
Issued by Herman Mashaba, ActionSA President, 4 May 2021
