Following a report highlighting political killings, it’s vitally important the international community acts to ensure next year’s election is free and fair, says Martin Plaut

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has indicated that a national election is likely to be held in May next year (Report, 21 September). Time is short, but the circumstances are hardly propitious for holding a credible election.

Last month the Moerane commission published its long-awaited report on political killings. It received little coverage in the UK, but its findings are extremely worrying. The report opens by stating: “The apparently never-ending murder of politicians in KwaZulu-Natal is a symptom of a serious pathology in the province’s body politic.” The commission uncovered a nexus of corruption and murder across the province, with at least 120 politically related murders since 2011.

These killings are not restricted to one province. The Independent Election Commission warned that there is a correlation between electoral and political competition that “impairs the public’s willingness to engage with democracy”, and that the “underlying causes of the murder of politicians are potentially present in all provinces”.

Such warnings must be taken seriously. It is vitally important that the international community, which did so much to support South Africa’s democracy during the dark days of apartheid, acts without delay to ensure that next year’s national election is free and fair. Working through the Commonwealth and the EU, Britain can play a vital role in the sending of observer missions to cover both the run-up to the election and the election itself.

Martin Plaut

Senior research fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London

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