The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) have criticised the National Assembly’s (NA’s) decision to adopt the Electoral Amendment Bill, saying this was another blow to the public's faith in Parliament.

On Thursday, 232 MPs voted in favour of the controversial Electoral Amendment Bill, 98 rejected it and three abstained from the vote.

The Bill will be sent to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence.

This despite civil society organisations urging MPs to reject the Bill, saying if it is passed, Parliament will jeopardise citizens’ right to vote and cause injustice to the country’s democracy.

The majority of the vote falling in favour of the Bill can be attributed to the African National Congress, Economic Freedom Fighters and Al Jama-ah. The Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front Plus, African Christian Democratic Party, Inkatha Freedom Party, United Democratic Movement rejected the Bill.  

“We are dismayed at Parliament’s utter lack of consideration for the constitutional concerns that Outa and other civil society organisations and experts raised. We believe the Bill in its current form fails to pass constitutional muster,” said Outa parliamentary engagement and research manager Rachel Fischer.

She said after failing to meet the Constitutional Court’s two-year deadline, the Bill still fails to protect voters’ constitutional rights.

Fischer highlighted that MPs who voted in favour of this Bill ignored a resounding call from Outa and more than 50 other civil society organisations to reject the Bill in its current form.

“It is a disgrace that Parliament was given 24 months from the ConCourt judgment to amend the Electoral Act but not only missed the June deadline, but there’s a good chance that the Bill will not be finalised by the extended deadline of 10 December 2022. Unless, of course, the NA and NCOP pull out all the stops to force this Bill through, trampling on any substantial and valid effort to critique it,” added Fischer.

She claims that the Bill, as it stands, was not developed with constitutional law experts or civil society organisations.

Fischer noted that with the NCOP’s public participation process commencing Friday, it is evident that the NA and NCOP are intent on forcing the Bill through to meet the December 10 deadline.

She said it was now up to civil society and South Africans to ensure proper electoral reform that respects citizens’ civic rights and protects the country’s Constitution.