By David Masango

Pretoria – The majority of the country's political parties have signed the Electoral Code of Conduct, committing themselves to good conduct during the 1 March municipal elections.

The code of conduct is aimed at promoting conditions that are conducive to free and fair elections, including tolerance of democratic political activity, free political campaigning and open public debate.

The code guides the contestants' behaviour as competition mounts while it also explicitly states the consequences and sanctions should parties or individuals breach the code.

It lists all prohibited conduct so that all parties are aware of the dos and the don’ts. It also offers protection to contestants, voters and all role players in an election.

Deputy Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Thoko Mpumlwana said the signing was a fundamental act of entrenching constitutional democracy in the country.

She said it was an essential step in fulfilling the IEC's mandate to promote and safeguard democracy in South Africa and to manage free and fair elections of national, provincial as well as municipal legislative bodies in accordance with national legislation.

Mpumlwana said the code ensured that "the constitutional values and principles of freedom, equality, human rights, non-racialism, non-sexism, rule of law and universal suffrage were realised, lived and enjoyed by all citizens".

She also urged parties to adhere to "tolerance of democratic political activity" and "free political campaigning" when canvassing for votes.

"With more parties and candidates it is very important for us all to accept that they have a democratic right to have different opinion and views," she said.

Mpumlwana applauded the political parties for their conduct in the past and said she believed they would do the same in this instance.

"I would sincerely like to pay tribute to you for your earnest efforts in cooperating with us, and for recognising the authority and impartiality of the Commission in the conduct of elections," she said.

However, she made it clear that it was each party's responsibility to ensure that its followers or party "enthusiasts" cooperated and adhered strictly to the code, even outside the election period.

Meanwhile, the IEC is certifying the candidates' list and will soon print nearly 4 200 different ballots for the 284 municipalities countrywide.

On election day, voting will take place from 7am until 7pm.

Source: BuaNews