JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's top court, in a landmark ruling on Thursday, struck down a section of electoral law that bars candidates from running for parliament if they are not affiliated to a political party.

The decision, in a case brought by civil society organisations, will see voters in post-apartheid South Africa directly electing their lawmakers for the first time.

"It is declared that the Electoral Act... is unconstitutional to the extent that it requires that adult citizens will be elected to the National Assembly and provincial legislature only through their membership of political parties," said Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga. "Requiring citizens to exercise the right to contest elections and hold office only through political parties subverts (the constitution)," the judge said. "The deficiency in the Electoral Act to the extent that it fails to enable adult South Africans to stand as individuals is inconsistent with the constitution," he added.

Members of the National Assembly, the powerful 400-seat lower house in parliament, are currently elected indirectly.

Voters cast ballots for political parties, and the seats are then shared out for each party according to a system of proportional representation.

Each party then distributes the seats according to a list of pre-selected members - a system that critics say promotes loyalty and patronage over commitment to a constituency.