Buthelezi gave Mbeki draft electoral bill
2002-12-19 21:14
Pretoria - Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi has confirmed he submitted draft electoral legislation to President Thabo Mbeki to be tabled directly in Cabinet in the event an early poll was called in KwaZulu-Natal.
However, Mbeki refused permission, the minister said in a statement on Thursday.
Buthelezi, who is also president of the Inkatha Freedom Party, said he did not wish to be drawn into any controversy, but that he did not deserve the criticism levelled at him or his department.
"As the minister of home affairs I am keenly aware of the responsibility of my office and I have tried to satisfy them. I am respectful of the Constitution and the obligations which flow from it."
Legislation
Buthelezi said he instructed his department to prepare legislation as soon as it was reported last month that several parties in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature had indicated their intention to resort to any early election.
At present there is no obligation in terms of which an election can be held for either a provincial legislature or the national assembly.
Nevertheless, in terms the Constitution either could dissolve themselves in which case a premier or the president, as the case might be, must call an election, Buthelezi said.
"Therefore, both government and parliament have the obligation to provide for the required legislation should such an occurrence materialise."
Buthelezi said his department had then drafted a short amendment to the 1993 Electoral Act, to extend its application to any provincial election which might take place before the 2004 elections.
According to Cabinet procedure dealing with urgent matters, he had written to Mbeki before the last scheduled meeting of the year, attaching a memorandum containing the draft Electoral Law Extension Bill.
He was seeking Mbeki's approval to submit the memorandum directly to cabinet without first submitting it to the cabinet committee.
"The memorandum was aimed merely to authorise me, as the minister of home affairs, to table such bill in Parliament if and when an early provincial election is in fact called."
It also made provision for Parliament to be recalled to deal with the bill if necessary.
Buthelezi said that Mbeki had indicated he would not consent to the tabling because a provincial election had not in fact been called and government could not operate in reaction to press reports and political statements and speculation.
It was not true that the president rejected the bill outright, when in fact, he had merely indicated that there was not sufficient basis for it to be dealt with at that time.
"Therefore, it is unfair and unwarranted to criticise the president or me in that respect," Buthelezi said.
Early election ruled out
Earlier this week, Mbeki ruled out any possibility of an early election in KwaZulu-Natal, saying there was no legislation which allowed for it.
"So it won't happen, because it will be illegal."
He said he did not know why anyone would want an election now, as the provinces were scheduled to go the polls again in 2004.
The IFP's national council issued a statement after its meeting in Ulundi lst week, mandating premier Lionel Mtshali to call an early election in the province.
The IFP said the election should be held "before the undemocratic constitutional amendment aimed at warping the will of the people and usurping the premiership of KwaZulu-Natal comes into force".
The IFP and its coalition partner have been at logger heads for months over several issues, culminating in the recent floor-crossing saga.
Relations soured further when Mtshali axed two of the four ANC MECs in his cabinet and replaced them with two Democratic Alliance members.
Constitutional Court
The IFP has hinted that they might take the issue of an early election in KwaZulu-Natal to the Constitutional Court.
"In respect of the legality of calling an early election, it is fortunate to note that unlike in the apartheid dispensation when the state president could make such decisions unilaterally, the Constitutional Court today serves as the final arbiter of such disputes or disagreements," said IFP national spokesperson Musa Zondi.
DA provincial leader Roger Burrows has accused Mbeki of abrogating the Constitution he swore to uphold when he took the oath as president, and has also hinted at court action.
- SAPA