President Cyril Ramaphosa signs the Electoral Amendment Bill into law

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Electoral Amendment Bill into law, which will now allow independent candidates to stand in provincial and national elections. The bill was passed by the National Assembly in February after a Constitutional Court order to amend the law was handed down in June 2020. Parliament had requested two extensions to the 24-month deadline imposed by the court, to revise the law. After a legal challenge mounted by the New Nation Movement, the Constitutional Court declared the electoral law unconstitutional for only allowing political parties to be represented in provincial and national legislatures.