By Khulile Thwala
The Senate has passed legislation proposing that the election of bucopho take place during the secondary elections.
This was during a sitting where Senators adopted the report of the Portfolio Committee of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs on the Elections (Amendment) Bill, no.3 of 2023.
This amendment will, however, not be applicable in the upcoming elections as the law is not retrospective. Previously, bucopho were elected first during the primary elections, and indvuna yenkhundla and the Member of Parliament (MP) followed subsequently during the secondary elections.
Senators had previously resolved that the amendment should not apply stating that the law should be retained. However, a change of heart occurred yesterday as senators agreed that the amendment should be effected.
READ MORE: Elections bill prioritises women, youth, and disabled
Through communication from the House of Assembly, the Senate has forwarded the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023 from the August House with amendments in clauses 2, 3, 4, 10, and 20 for concurrence of the Senate.
The adopted amendment for bucopho is Clause 3 Section 7 which reads: “Following acceptance of the nomination, a candidate for bucopho shall proceed to be elected at the secondary level.”
According to the senators, the adoption was done to eliminate questionable behaviour by those elected in the primary elections. Additionally, they also attributed the adoption to voter numbers stating that the registration numbers did not corroborate with the voter numbers at the secondary level because most people voted during the primary elections.
Senator Chief Zabeni said it did not reflect well when the voter numbers were low as this was detrimental to the reputation of the system. He further said it was common for people to omit voting in the second round of elections because they were either busy, tired, or sickly.
“This then compromises the counting of voter numbers because less numbers are recorded during the second election in comparison to the number of people who registered,” said the chief.
READ MORE: Finding economic growth pathways requires attention to governance
The senators further decried the practice of bucopho advocating for candidates outside of their jurisdiction once they have won the primary elections, stating that some delinquents usually campaigned for those they receive bribes from.
Minister of Public Service, who is also the MP of Maphalaleni, Mabulala Maseko, when making a submission on the Bill, said bucopho was an essential part of the operations of the nation and they were the heart of the nation. Therefore, it was prudent to ensure their election was one treated with caution.
“It was common in years past that some suspects would take bribe money and campaign on behalf of the bribers. But this amendment will stop this for good,” said Maseko.
