South Africa: It's Elections Time and You're Looking for Your MP? Good Luck With That!

analysis

If you want to talk to your constituency MP, make sure you're armed with plenty of airtime, data and a generous dose of patience. Parliament at the end of May officially went on "constituency period" (not a recess for electioneering) until well after the 3 August municipal poll. That means MPs should be easily spotted in their constituencies rather than at the national legislature in Cape Town. But neither Parliament, nor political parties, make it easy to find the public elected representative for your area. By MARIANNE MERTEN.

South Africans vote for political parties. Each party compiles their lists of candidates, who make it to Parliament in proportion to the number of ballots cast for that political party. To facilitate direct contact between voters and their public representatives - in line with the constitutional imperative for an open and accessible national legislature - MPs are assigned to constituencies by their political parties.

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