Programme Director
Chairperson of the Electoral Commissions Forum
President of the Electoral Commissions Forum
Chairpersons of Electoral Commissions
Members of the Electoral Commissions of SADC countries
Directors of Elections
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Ladies and gentlemen
I am pleased to welcome you to South Africa for the holding of the 13th Annual General Conference of the Electoral Commissions Forum of the SADC region.
The Annual General Conference is an event that draws together election management bodies of the SADC countries to discuss a number of issues pertaining to the development and sustenance of electoral democracy in this part of the continent of Africa.
This makes this event all the more significant given the overarching value of democratic practice as one of the preconditions for reconstruction, development and the economic growth of our region, not to mention our continent.
In this regard our Government, and indeed our nation at large, is honoured by the decision of the Electoral Commission Forum to hold its 2011 Annual Conference in South Africa.
I trust that you will find our country and people warm and welcoming.
Programme director,
The theme under which you are labouring, 'Challenges to Democracy and Elections', is appropriate to the extent that it helps direct our focus to the contemporary challenges facing the development of popular democracy across the continent.
As you are well aware nourishing democracy in our continent is one of the ultimate objectives in terms of which we want to ensure a better life for our people.
In the last few years countries in the SADC region have been striving to build a democratic culture by progressively consolidating democratic practices and institutions.
As a result, among others, the Constitutions of all SADC Member States enshrine the principles of equal opportunities and full participation of the citizens in the political process.
Today, all members of the SADC region are signatories to the Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
These principles and guidelines include the following:
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full participation of citizens in the political process
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freedom of association
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political tolerance
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equal opportunity for all political parties to access state media
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equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
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independence of the judiciary and
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impartiality of the electoral institutions.
At the time when these principles and guidelines were adopted in the 2004 SADC Mauritius Summit, a number of Member States had, in their own way, already made a commendable effort to see some of these precepts through.
For instance, the establishment of election management bodies that are independent and impartial, to manage and deliver free and fair elections had already been a general practice in the region.
Be that as it may, today we are proud that elections are an important part of the democratic life across the region. Every year, there are generally free and fair elections in the region and by the end of this year, seven countries, including South Africa, will have held elections.
Another significant achievement in the region is that there is growing recognition and appreciation of the benefits of multi-partyism.
This is complemented by the realisation that sustainable democracy is dependent on a competitive and transparent market place of political ideas where citizens are free to choose leaders who will represent their aspirations.
A healthy political environment also results in peace and stability not only in individual countries but in the region as a whole.
In the final analysis peace and stability also serve as preconditions for social and economic development.
Programme director,
Contrary to prophecies of doom in certain parts of the world regarding democratic values in Africa, we have proven as a region that working together under the principle of self-determination and sovereignty we can create conditions of sustainable democracy for the benefit of our people.
Thus far the joint work we have carried out shows some encouraging results. Inspired by these achievements, we should continue to steadily take our region to a higher level of democratic engagement.
I do however wish to acknowledge that even though progress has been made in establishing and strengthening a culture of democracy, there are still many challenges that lie ahead of us for which we hope this conference will help identify possible solutions.
The first challenge is that of ensuring that we continue entrenching democracy in our countries, understanding that a democratic culture takes years of painstaking work to build and entrench as a culture, so that it becomes second nature.
Debates leading up to difference of opinion and dialogue should become a habit of mind, done without any form of self-conscious restrictions on the part of individual members of society.
Secondly, SADC Member States also need to work hard to ensure that the independence and impartiality of the electoral management bodies is entrenched so that they can be trusted to serve our people without fear, favour or prejudice.
In his address to the Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness on 11 May 2011, Dr Jean Ping, the Chairperson of the African Union, alluded to the fact that building strong institutions and political processes is critical in ensuring such confidence.
Accordingly, building democracy presupposes setting up electoral institutions that have full capacity to execute their duties in a manner that creates confidence in the electorate, in the process deepening public trust.
Not only that, as Member States, we also need to keep working to enhance transparency in the election process and making all our citizens owners of the process, stakeholders in the democratic firmament we are building.
This is a particularly cardinal point to always bear in mind, since democracy is about government of the people, by the people for the people.
By making our people the legitimate owners of the electoral process, we are also preventing electoral conflicts and guaranteeing political stability in our countries and region.
Programme director,
Governments of the Member States of the SADC region appreciate the work done by the electoral management bodies in the region and will all be watching with keen interest the outcome of this Conference.
It is my hope that today’s proceedings will help usher in new and positive developments in electoral democracy in the SADC region.
As Africans our destiny is in our own hands. We should, therefore, at all times critically engage ourselves with the view to arriving at the best possible political and economic arrangements for our own people.
Deepening democracy ensures effective governance and in turn creates sustainable conditions of peace and stability, ending wars, conflicts and poverty afflicting the lives of many of our people.
I wish you a successful conference and thank you very much for your kind attention.
