SAPOHR President Highlights Issues with Electoral Commission’s Independence

Golden Miles Bhudu, President of the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR), alleges that the Electoral Commission (IEC) lost its independence before the 1999 national elections.

During that year, the commission made a controversial decision to exclude all prisoners from voting, a ruling that was later successfully contested in court.

As thousands of inmates and millions of ordinary South Africans prepare to participate in next month’s elections, Bhudu emphasizes the need for greater protection of inmates’ rights.

“The independence, impartiality, and integrity of the IEC were compromised during our journey towards the second democratic elections in this country,” he asserts. “The IEC was influenced and took a certain direction, aligning with the ANC (African National Congress), which is why the ANC has consistently won the elections with overwhelming victories since then.”

Bhudu advocates for inmates to receive voter education and for political parties and independent candidates to be allowed to campaign at correctional facilities.

“We took our case to court, where the IEC, the Department of Correctional Services, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Finance, and even the President’s office appointed top lawyers to oppose our application,” Bhudu explains. “Despite our efforts through the legal system, we have consistently lost our cases against these legal experts. They have been resisting fair, open, and democratic elections for both sentenced and unsentenced prisoners. Even today, the majority of prisoners are not registered to vote because they lack proper identification.”

Meanwhile, last week, the IEC held a media briefing to provide updates on the election schedule, including ballot procedures and overseas voting notices.