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The phenomenon of national election observation deserves careful analysis. On the one hand, it is clear that this alternative has many advantages, as it entails significantly lower costs than international operations and contributes to the development of democratic consciousness at the national level. It is also an essential element in countries where international election observation missions are prohibited by law and where this prohibition cannot be sufficiently overcome by the use of international visitors. It must be acknowledged that some countries are not positive about international election observation, which is why such operations are sometimes themselves „monitored“ with suspicion, as national electoral authorities and political parties believe that these NGOs are now pursuing foreign interests. National election observation is an ambiguous phenomenon. On the one hand, it is very positive to see it as an alternative to the transfer of thousands of international observers, the vast majority of whom do not know the country and even the electoral process. On the other hand, it is questionable whether it contributes to the strengthening of electoral administration and political parties. In the most effective scenario, it is not one or the other, but a national and international election observation. Each approach has its own limitations, but each can also bring great value. The legal framework for national elections in South Africa includes the Constitution, Electoral Act 73 of 1996, the Electoral Commission Act 51 of 1996 and the Public Financing of Represented Political Parties Act 103 of 1997. The 2013 review in 2013 was only intended to revise sections of the Elections Act.73 The CA itself is also the subject of numerous legal challenges to its validity. According to the Constitutional Declaration, the CA must first finalize its constitutional proposal before December 11, 2012, after which a referendum will be held within 15 days.
In October 2012, the legal challenges were referred back to the SCC for decision, so that the timing of the constitutional reform could be influenced as well as the timing of the parliamentary elections. It is also necessary for a legal framework to include effective mechanisms to ensure the full implementation of the law and citizens` rights. Sanctions must track violations. The main risk associated with INEC`s involvement in electoral reform processes is that the commission is appointed by the president and its members can be removed through impeachment proceedings that require the support of a two-thirds majority in the Senate. While it has never been true that a member of the Commission was removed from office because of his or her strong views, this could happen under the current framework if, at some point, a ruling party decided to exercise its powers. The establishment and consolidation of a democratic system requires constant learning and the strengthening of the values of participation, stability, plurality and peace, as well as the exercise of rights and legality, the use of self-interest and restraint, competition, cooperation and tolerance. This learning process leads to the recognition of mutual rights and duties, the acceptance of the values of plurality and diversity, and the renunciation of dogmatic principles and political Manichaeism. This learning process also leads to the formation of political parties and tendencies aware of the scope and limits of true democratic competition, in which no one can be above the law or assert privileges over the majority. Indeed, any majorities must always be seen as part of and not as a whole, and therefore the rights of minorities must be fully respected, including their right to become a majority. The role of EMBs in monitoring and regulating the activities of political parties has been significantly reformed. Some are the consequences of legislative reforms aimed at levelling the playing field for political competition – for example, reforms in the management of public funding of political parties and candidates` election campaigns, as well as qualifications to register parties and candidates to participate in elections.
Others aimed to improve the tracking of campaign donations and expenses, as well as the internal democracy of political parties – such as monitoring candidate selection procedures. Reforms to promote a level playing field for elections have also given some EMBs the responsibility of managing or monitoring arrangements that require the media to fairly distribute advertising opportunities for campaigns. More and more EMBs are introducing new voting methods. Brazil, India, Bhutan and Venezuela have replaced manual voting with EVMs, while Estonia has introduced Internet voting. Many of the issues that need to be addressed in the reform of electoral processes through the introduction of electronic voting are discussed in Chapter 9. Legal frameworks must organise how constituencies are defined and defined. Constituencies must be seen as favourable political representations and modified again and again to reflect political and social realities.