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In a rare show of unity, members of Parliament from the three major political parties all recommended that former anti-apartheid activist Janet Love fill the vacant commissioner post at the Independent Electoral Commission.
The position has been vacant since the resignation of Raenette Taljaard in February last year.
Love, who is director of the Legal Resources Centre and a commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission, was selected by the home affairs portfolio committee because of her integrity, considerable skills and depth of experience.
Being a white female, she also ticked both boxes in terms of race and gender as the four current IEC commissioners were all black men. In terms of the constitution, the chapter nine institution needed to “reflect broadly the race and gender composition of South Africa”.
This provision led to a previous shortlist to Parliament being rejected last year. The committee said then that the candidates – consisting of six black men, one black woman and one white woman – lacked representivity. President Jacob Zuma agreed and the selection process, by a panel headed by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, had to start from scratch.
This time round, Love was selected yesterday from a shortlist of eight candidates – made up mostly of women.
Love participated in the Codesa negotiations, was an assistant general manager at the South African Reserve Bank and is a former MP who served on various Parliamentary committees.
Motivating her for the position, the Democratic Alliance’s Haniff Hoosen said that she met the requirements and also provisions in terms of gender and race. This was supported by both the Economic Freedom Fighters and African National Congress.
The ANC’s Donald Gumede noted the panel’s comments that Love had also shown a “remarkable understanding” of the crucial role of the IEC in promoting democracy.
The committee’s chairperson Lemias Mashile said it was “remarkable and unusual that we can all concur on one name without having a caucus meeting beforehand”.
Reading out the report which would go to the National Assembly for approval, he said: “Today I will sleep the nicest sleep.”
After a similar selection process, Vuma Mashinini filled a vacancy left after IEC commissioner and chairperson Pansy Tlakula resigned in 2014. Love was also on the shortlist of eight names submitted by the panel to Parliament.
