- South Africans do not vote for a president but instead elect 400 members of the National Assembly.
- Voters will be casting votes to elect a new National Assembly and the Provincial Legislature in each of the nine provinces.
Image: COURTESY
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta has reiterated his commitment to maintaining a neutral ground in South Africa’s general election slated for Wednesday.
Uhuru who is in the country as part of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) said his job is only to ensure the election is conducted in a free, fair and transparent way.
“We are here to observe the people of South Africa exercise their democratic right, we have no preconceived outcomes or anything,” he said in a press conference.
“We just want to see the people of South Africa having an opportunity to express their will...and for us, this is the job that we have."
The nation is preparing to hold the election on May 29.
He also urged the electoral body to ensure the process is transparent and reflects the will of the people.
Voters will be casting votes to elect a new National Assembly and the Provincial Legislature in each of the nine provinces.
South Africans do not vote for a president but instead elect 400 members of the National Assembly, who then go on to vote for a new president within 30 days of the general election.
There are no presidential candidates here, instead each of the parties front their leader.
ANC’s president Cyril Ramaphosa, Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen and EFF’s Julius Malema are among the top contenders for the seat.
Uhuru who arrived in the country Friday as the head of the mission is leading a team of 60 short-term observers (STOs) and three Core Team electoral experts.
On Saturday, he participated in a series of high-level meetings in Johannesburg to assess the country’s preparedness for the exercise.
He also met commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa where he received a brief on the commission’s preparedness to conduct a smooth, transparent and credible election.
The primary mandate of the team will be to provide impartial reporting or assessment of the quality of the poll.
This includes the degree to which the conduct of the elections meets regional, continental and international standards for democratic elections.
It will also offer recommendations for the improvement of future elections based on the findings.
“The AUEOM will engage with several stakeholders and observe the final preparations and polling process.
Based on the findings, it will issue its preliminary statement after election day,” AUC statement read.
As part of its tasks, it has been tasked with demonstrating the AU’s solidarity and support towards South Africa’s elections and democratization process to ensure that the conduct of democratic, credible and peaceful elections contributes to the consolidation of democratic governance, peace and stability in the country.
The observer mission draws its mandate from various AU instruments, notably the AU guidelines for elections observation and monitoring missions (2002), and the OUA/AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (2002).
It also derives it from the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (1981) and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007).
AUEOM also aligns with Aspiration 3 of the AU Agenda 2063, which aims to ensure good governance, democracy and respect for human rights, justice, and the rule of law.