Floor-crossing 'window' opens for councillors
Candace Freeman
1 September 2004
Municipal councillors from around the country have an opportunity to "cross the floor" to any other registered political party following the "opening" of the window period on Wednesday.
This session's floor crossing period, which will last for two weeks, will end on 15 September and allows elected members of parliament, provincial legislatures and municipal councils to change party membership and still retain their seats.
The floor crossing legislation stipulates, among others, that municipal council members can either remain with their parties, cross the floor to another party, found an own party or remain in the councils as independents.
However, any councillor who plans to cross the floor has to be accompanied by 10 percent of his or her party members on a specific council, otherwise the move will be invalid.
The Independent Electoral Commission said on Tuesday that proportional list councillors may only change political
parties - but cannot become independents. However, ward councillors can either join another party or become independent councillors.
This is the second floor crossing window period for municipal councillors since the 2000 municipal elections.
IEC chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula told a media briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday that councillors intending to join a new party were only protected by the Constitution during the set window period.
"No party represented on a council may during the window period, suspend or terminate the party membership of a councillor who has opted to jump ship into a rival party.
"Parties may also not perform any act which may cause such a councillor to be disqualified from holding office in that particular municipality," she said.
"A councillor can only cross the floor to join a party which is already registered with the IEC. If a councilor crosses to an unregistered party or decides to cross before or after the window
period, he or she will lose their seat," said Tlakula, who added that it is the responsibility of each councillor who crosses the floor to ensure that notice is received by the IEC.
Once the window period has ended, a full list of floor crossers and any party mergers will be published in the Government Gazette within seven days, said the IEC.
There are 8 951 councillors in 284 municipalities countrywide, made up of 3 754 ward councillors and 5 197 proportional list councillors, with about 4 700 of these being ANC representatives.
Cape Town was the only metropolitan council in the country that was won by an opposition party - the Democratic Alliance - in the municipal poll of 2000, but it lost the city two years later. At present the ANC has 81 seats, the DA 70 and the NNP 32, with the remainder held by smaller parties.
Source: BuaNews
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