ActionSA defends one-name PR lists as DA challenges post-election candidate changes - IOL

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont has defended the party’s use of single-candidate PR lists, following a Democratic Alliance Electoral Court challenge ahead of the local government elections.

ActionSA has hit back at the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Electoral Court challenge to single-candidate proportional representation (PR) lists, arguing that the Municipal Electoral Act allows parties to supplement their lists after an election.

The DA has taken issue with ActionSA, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), MK Party and GOOD over their use of single-candidate PR lists ahead of the November 4 local government elections.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the party would defend its position in court, arguing that the legislation does not require parties to submit a full PR list before voters go to the polls.

The party's candidate selection policy provides for its PR list to be supplemented after the election by ward candidates, based on their performance, if ActionSA is entitled to more PR seats than the number of candidates initially submitted.

Beaumont said the legislation was clear about what happens when a party has fewer candidates than the number of seats it is entitled to.

“If a party list contains fewer candidates than the party is entitled to, the Electoral Commission must in writing immediately notify the party of the exact shortfall and request the party to deliver within two days of the notice a list supplemented by the name or names of one or more eligible candidates,” the Act states.

ActionSA argues that the provision does not distinguish between parties that unexpectedly win additional seats and those that deliberately submit shorter lists before an election.

“The essence of the Democratic Alliance’s court case is to read things into these provisions of the Municipal Electoral Act that the legislators simply did not include,” Beaumont said.

Beaumont also questioned the DA's challenge, pointing to municipalities where the DA itself submitted one-candidate PR lists for the 2026 elections.

ActionSA identified 12 KwaZulu-Natal municipalities where it says the DA submitted one-seat PR lists: Ntabankulu, Umzumbe, Mkhambathini, Nqutu, Msinga, uMvoti, eDumbe, Nongoma, Ulundi, Big Five Hlabisa, Mfolozi and Maphumulo.

The party also said it had correspondence from the DA's KwaZulu-Natal leadership to the National Freedom Party in 2016 offering NFP seats through the same legal provision.

ActionSA argues that this demonstrates the supplementation mechanism is not a new practice and has previously been relied on by the DA.

Beaumont questioned the timing of the DA's legal challenge, saying it had been brought after the candidate nomination process had closed.

The DA's challenge centres on whether parties can use the supplementation provisions as a deliberate strategy by submitting only one PR candidate and selecting additional candidates after the election.

DA Federal Council chairperson Ashor Sarupen has argued that the provision was intended to deal with circumstances where a party wins more seats than the number of candidates it submitted, rather than allowing parties to withhold the names of potential councillors from voters.

The DA says voters should know which individuals could represent them before they cast their ballots.

It has therefore asked the Electoral Court to determine whether the practice of deliberately submitting single-candidate PR lists is lawful and constitutionally permissible.

The party has also challenged the use of the mechanism by ActionSA, the EFF, MK Party and GOOD, saying their approach could leave voters unaware of who may ultimately occupy seats secured by their parties.

The DA's position is that the supplementation provision should not be interpreted as allowing parties to decide who will fill additional PR seats only after the election results are known.

Terry Tselane, executive chairman of the Institute of Election Management Services in Africa, said the legislation allows a party to supplement its list where it has fewer candidates than the number of seats it is entitled to after an election.

He said the process provides for the Electoral Commission to notify the party of the shortfall and require additional eligible candidates to be submitted.

Tselane also said the legislation does not require every party to submit a full PR list before an election, with supplementation taking place after the results are known and before the first council meeting..