After the 1994 elections, the Parliamentary Information and Monitoring Service carried out a survey with political parties in which a majority supported a mixed methods system with a constituency-based element. In 1995, the Constitutional Assembly held a Workshop of Theme which was a significant milestone in the constitutional and electoral debate. It provided an opportunity for scholars and political parties to exchange ideas on electoral options, their implications and considered the shortcomings of the PR system that was in place at the time. In 1998, The Electoral Institute of South Africa (EISA) convened a roundtable that reopened the debate on electoral reform, devoting two days of deliberations.

The dialogues explored the various options on electoral systems and ultimately also debated on the retention of the current system. Over the course of 1999 various organisations and academics such as the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the New National Party, the Democratic party (now DA) etc. pronounced their views on electoral reform.

By the early 2000s, these debates became more about the effectiveness of the PR system, particularly its inherent weaknesses on accountability and the relationships between elected representatives and their constituents. Following all this, the SA government established the Electoral Task Team (now known as the van Zyl Slabbert Commission) to explore alternative electoral systems and review recommendations on the electoral system, in 2002. The task team released a report in 2003 which recommended a Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) system, a system which combines elements of both proportional representation and constituency-based systems.

While this is widely considered one of the most important contributions to the subject of electoral reform in the country, the recommendations were not implemented due to a lack of political will. In 2009, the fourth national elections were again held under the PR system, the African National Congress (ANC) maintained its majority while the conversation on electoral reform continued, there was growing dissatisfaction on governance at the time and more pointed questions were posed as it relates to accountability and direct elections of representatives.

In 2015, the Speakers’ Forum², which is the representative body of the South African legislative sector, moved to establish an independent high-level panel of eminent South Africans to undertake the task of assessing the content and implementation of legislation passed since 1994 in relation to its effectiveness and possible unintended consequences³. Their mandate was to review legislation, assess implementation, identify gaps and propose action steps with a view to identifying laws that require strengthening, amending or change. This intervention entailed identifying existing legislation that enables the transformational agenda and pursuit of the developmental state, as well as laws that impede this goal. Chaired by Former President Kgalema Motlhante, the High-Level Panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and the Acceleration of Fundamental Change published a report which contained a section on the electoral system in 2017. This section outlined its support for the recommendations made by the Electoral Task Team and called upon Parliament to amend the Electoral Act to provide for an electoral system that ensures accountability by parliamentarians and to defined constituencies on a proportional representation and constituency system for national elections⁴.

In 2016, following complaints received in connection to the improper conduct and unethical appointment of cabinet ministers, as well as corruption in the assignment of state contracts. The Public Protector Thuli Madonsela published a report entitled the State of Capture which included the recommendation that a judicial commission is appointed to investigate said matters⁵. While there was political resistance, primarily by former President Jacob Zuma, the Zondo commission was established. The Commission made substantial recommendations which included a change of the electoral system to allow for the President to be directly elected, as compared to the current system where it is political parties who elect their presidential candidates.

Following the disregard of all the above, the notable lack of accountability by elected leaders as the years have gone by, and ever-increasing boldness to commit acts with apparent impunity, electoral reform remained a core issue in the country’s democracy. An urgent Constitutional court application made in the New Nation Movement NPC and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others (CCT110/19) [2020] ZACC 11; 2020 (8) BCLR 950 (CC); 2020 (6) SA 257 (CC) (11 June 2020) challenged the party proportional representation system in section 57A of, and Schedule 1A of the Electoral Act. It further sought to ascertain whether the Electoral Act’s requirement for individuals to contest elections to the National Assembly and Provincial legislatures only through political party membership was constitutional. In a landmark judgement handed down in June 2020, it was found that the Electoral Act of 1998 was unconstitutional. 

Subsequent to this ConCourt judgement in 2020, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi (Minister of Home Affairs) established the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC). The committee was mandated with; identifying the impact of the Concourt’s ruling would have on Constitutional provisions; explore policy options on the electoral system that would address the defects of the Electoral Act⁶; consult with stakeholders in the development of said policy options, and lastly, make recommendations. Chaired by Mr Valli Moosa, MAC submitted a report of its findings to the Minister in June 2021. The committee was unable to reach consensus on their recommendations but managed to narrow them down two options. Considering these recommendations, the Minister then appointed a team of legal counsel to draw up a draft of the Amendment Bill, along with possible legal implications, which was presented to Cabinet in November 2021.

As part of the project of wider political reform, civil society organisations such as My Vote Counts (MVC), made submissions that contributed to the implementation of significant amendments to the Electoral Act as well as the inclusion of a sunset clause for the establishment of an Electoral reform consultation panel. According to the Electoral Matters Amendment Act, “the functions of the Panel are to independently investigate, consult on, report on and make recommendations in respect of potential reforms of the electoral system for the election of the National Assembly and the election of the provincial legislatures, in respect of the elections to be held after the 2024 elections”4. Some of the duties of the panel include; conducting research prior to the 2024 elections, undertake a public participation process which will deepen their understanding of the issues of the current electoral system from the perspective of the citizens, and provide a three-monthly progress report to the Minister. The establishment of this reform panel has been delayed by the Minister, missing two critical deadlines; 19 September 2023, and an extension of submission which also passed on 19 January 2023, with no further update until 14 May. On this day, Minister Motsoaledi presented a list of candidates that has been met with widespread criticism citing a bias toward former public servants and former Electoral commission employees, and a lack of representation of civil society who have made significant contributions towards the subject of electoral reform.