Today's reported comments by the Presidency on the imminent elections in KwaZulu Natal are a major set back in the consolidation of our fledgling democracy. It is saddening that those charged with the highest responsibility of protecting and upholding our Constitution would either be ignorant about its contents or hold it in utter contempt.

It is nonsense to state that the President could resort to section 100 of the Constitution to take over KwaZulu Natal. Section 100 provides for an executive override which enables the national Government to perform a single executive obligatory and legally mandated action when a provincial government has failed to perform it or incapable of performing it. Such power is subject to a number of limitation and qualification.

The executive override cannot be invoked when a province performs an action which is allowed under the Constitution and does not apply in respect of actions of a legislature, such as calling for an early election. This unconstitutional threat by the Presidency infringes on the constitutional prerogative of provinces and is an example of arrogance of power. It is equally erroneous and ill-informed to suggest that the cost of holding an election should be met through the provincial budget, when in fact this is a national line function responsibility. Why should such blatant misstatements of law be used by the custodians of the Constitution to prevent the constitutional exercise of democracy?

It is also outrageous that in public comments, the motivation for the early provincial election is seen as aimed at preventing further floor crossing, when the IFP has made it clear that its call for an early election is motivated by the retrospective and immoral provision in the draft constitutional amendment Bill which will allow those who previously attempted to cross the floor under the legislation held unconstitutional to be reinstated and then cross the floor. The use of retroactive constitutional amendments to serve such expedient political purposes is an attempt on the rule of law and our constitutionalism.

One does not understand why the holding of an election should be seen as a "crisis" or, as certain headlines have put, KwaZulu Natal being on fire.

Elections in KwaZulu Natal must be held peacefully, fairly and in an organized manner. Instead of igniting concerns, fears and possible violence, the majority party should work with other political parties to achieve this goal. There is nothing wrong in what is happening in KwaZulu Natal. Rather, a great deal is wrong in the manner in which the enemies of democracy have reacted to it.