Former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke says the inquiry set up to probe the feasibility of free and fair elections during the pandemic will need scientific data that outlines whether citizens can go to the polls in October.
On Wednesday, Moseneke said the health minister would have to appear before the commission to give a picture of data.
The local government elections are set to take place on October 27.
Speaking at the inquiry, Moseneke said it is vital to ensure that the rights to life and vote are equally protected.
“There is a big contestation in the country... whether we need to keep the dates in October or not, or to move them a few months ahead. The minister of health will be here to tell us what is their vaccination rate, what they have in store, what numbers would they have in October, what the numbers might be in December, in March...
“We need the data that will tell us if we can go out safely in October or not. It is a vital scientific prediction that we need. Will we invite people out to die and be infected or will we invite them to exercise their political rights to vote safely? As a nation we would like to achieve both,” said Moseneke.
Political parties making their oral submissions at the inquiry gave varied views on whether the elections should continue.
One SA Movement leader Mmusi Maimane said it is possible for elections to go ahead and that safety measures can be put in place to ensure that citizens’ lives are not put at risk when they go to vote come election day.
“There is a possibility of being able to maintain the Right to life and achieve the democratic project on the said date of the 27th of October. Covid-19 protocols can be upheld and should be followed. It is not sine qua non [essential] to suggest that holding an election on the 27th will mean a super-spreader event.
“There are a few things that can be done to ensure that we don’t achieve a super-spreader event. There should be a pre-health assessment of all polling officials. We already have a vaccination programme in place that can ensure that they are all pretested,” said Maimane.
Action SA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of SA should ensure it puts a suitable model in place with measures that will ensure the elections continue under safe circumstances.
African Content Movement president Hlaudi Motsoeneng pleaded with Moseneke to postpone the elections and listen to medical experts.
“We need scientific and medical professionals to lead us. We cannot postpone lives. We need to protect the lives of young and old people. Now, hospitals are full and we have a shortage of vaccines. So we need to focus on lives of people. Let’s wait until our vaccination rate is high and we have achieved herd immunity,” said Motsoeneng.
On Tuesday, Wits University vaccinologist Prof Shabir Madhi and the head of the SA National Aids Council, Dr Fareed Abdullah, told the inquiry that SA should forge ahead with the elections only if 80% of high-risk individuals are vaccinated against Covid-19 or the country records a consistent decline in Covid-19 mortality rates.
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