Insights into backgrounds of candidates shortlisted for IEC

THE Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has published the academic and historical background of the candidates shortlisted to fill the vacancies for three commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

- MANYANE MANYANE

This move follows calls from civil society for a transparent nomination process, crucial for public trust and engagement in the electoral system.

The calls were made by civil society organisations, such as Corruption Watch and My Vote Counts, which believe that a lack of transparency hampered the meaningful participation and commentary, and deprived the public of the chance to conduct proper due diligence on appointees who will represent their interests.

The opportunity for the public and legal bodies to submit their comments for nominations closed on Wednesday.

The tenures of the current chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, and commissioners, Dr Nomsa Masuku and Judge Dhaya Pillay, are expected to end on November 1. The three were appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November 2018.

Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, along with Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka, as well as the SA Human Rights Commission and the Commission for Gender Equality, drove the process of nominations, and a shortlist of 12 candidates was released in June.

The list includes Moepya and Pillay.

Other candidates are Advocate Geraldine Chaplog-Louw, Advocate Richard Sizane, Dr Robert Martin, Dr Rajendran Govender, Justice Mjabuliseni Madondo, Granville Abrahams, Nkosikhulule Nyembezi, Jacqueline Liberty, Joyce Pitso, and Sibongile Sigodi.

Geraldine Chaplog-Louw

She has 27 years of experience at the senior management levels of the IEC. She has been involved in every national and provincial election, as well as local elections, since 1994. Her current responsibilities are in the area of governance and oversight.