Staff member in the Public Participation Programme and the Community Liaison Department of the Constitutional Assembly from 1994 to 1997. Within this role, Mr Govender was the Head of Publications and Communications, editor of the Constitutional Talk Newsletter, and Manager for Publications and Resources for the post-adoption media campaign for the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996

The Independent Electoral Commission was interim organisation created to oversee transition to and process of votes non-racial free and fair elections.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa was formed in 1996 to replace the Independent Electoral Commission in terms of Section 190 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.

The Community Liaison Department (CLD) was tasked to develop the Constitutional Assembly's Public Participation Programme (PPP), a unique development in national constitution-making and designed to ensure broad-based input and resulting public legitimacy of the Constitution. The CLD developed and implemented the face-to-face component of the PPP. The PPP held 1,253 interactions across South Africa during a two-year timespan – 1994 to 1996 – to broadly engage society across many domains, levels, social groupings, and locations.

Its work was supported by a massive media campaigns. All communication was in plain language and in all official languages through community liaison campaigns across all provinces to stimulate and collect public submissions. A significant part of the programme was directed towards people living in remote rural areas and historically disadvantaged urban areas. Civil society organisations were also targeted for participation. These interactions included public hearings, meetings, workshops, consultations, and briefings which accessed approximately 117,184 people. Submissions were conveyed to the appropriate structures of the Constitutional Assembly. Over 2 million submissions were received, all of which were processed through elected decision makers for their attention.