South Africa's president, its provincial premiers and its mayors should be voted in by the electorate and not appointed by a party hierarchy, Congress of the People (COPE) chairman Terror Lekota said on Sunday in Durban.

Lekota, speaking at a meeting attended by about 50 people in Durban's Chatsworth, said: "We want to amend the electoral system in such a way that the power is put in the hands of the people.