The South African electorate is approaching its seventh democratic national election in 2024, one which is being touted as a watershed moment. This election is expected to be tightly contested as the IEC grapples with legislative changes, including three ballot papers, a first for SA.

The country's next general election is likely to take place within 12 months. Preparations for the provincial and national elections by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) are underway, with some legislative changes giving the commission a headache.

For the first time in South Africa's (SA) history, independent candidates will be allowed to contest individually. This was made possible by the Electoral Amendment Act that became a law in June 2023, and is already being challenged in court.

What makes independent candidates eligible?

To be eligible to contest the elections, independent candidates need to garner thousands of signatures and to pay a deposit to the commission. For instance, to contest a regional election, the IEC has proposed that independents pay a deposit of R20,000 per province they intend to contest. Political parties will have to pay a proposed fee of R300,000 that covers all nine provinces.

An independent person may be nominated to contest in one or more regions, but may only be elected to one seat of the National Assembly (NA).

The NA is made up of 400 seats that are occupied by different political parties. Following the 2024 elections, the seats will be broken into half and...