NOLUTHANDO DLAMINI AND LUNGANI ZUNGU
Durban — With just two days to go to the all-important general elections, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is dousing a controversy that could potentially taint its credibility in managing the May 29 polls.
This follows a dramatic turn of events after pandemonium broke out between the members of the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) and IEC staffers in Mpumalanga Township in Hammarsdale, west of Durban, on Saturday evening.
The irate MKP members alleged they had caught IEC staffers offloading ballot papers at the “unauthorised” Mpumalanga Library, in what they claim was a plan to rig the elections for which 27 million people have registered to vote nationally.
Of this number, 5.7 million have registered to vote in KwaZulu-Natal, a fiercely contested province currently led by the ANC, which has been in power since it dislodged the IFP in 2004.
During the pandemonium on Saturday, Mandla Gwala, the MKP zone co-ordinator, said they had spotted a “suspicious” truck offloading ballot papers and bulk material at about 7pm at Mpumalanga Library, and confronted the driver.
“This is not a satellite area. The satellite area is not on this side of the road. Second, there is no invoice, so what does that tell you?”
Gwala added: “We tried to get information and checked with one of the IEC ladies and she said, no it is not supposed to be that side, the constituency office is on the other side, the library is not.”
The MK Party would open a criminal case, said Gwala.
At the scene, the truck driver told the Daily News: “I brought the ballot papers here because this is my satellite area I had been asked to use by the IEC to store the election materials in preparation for the special votes on Monday.
“I am preparing so that all voting stations open on time and there won’t be any delays with the material that needs to be transported from Springfield (the provincial IEC warehouse) to here.”
The driver said there were no sensitive materials such as official IEC election stamps, adding that all the boxes were sealed.
“We want to ensure there is no risk,” he said.
Vincent Mdunge, the newly appointed MKP spokesperson said the MKP would haul the IEC over the coals by opening a criminal case.
“We observed what was happening and called police. We insisted they open a case because a crime has been committed due to the rigging of the elections.”
The IEC, which has been running the country’s elections since the first democratic elections in 1994, has rejected the allegations of a plan to rig the elections.
On Sunday, the commission said it noted with “great concern” the incidents in eThekwini on Saturday.
“We wish to clarify that the videos depict our planned logistical arrangements and storage of election materials as we prepare for the first day of special voting on May 27 (today). These are legitimate and authorised arrangements for the distribution of ballot papers and the bulk material,” said the IEC.
Further allaying fears of vote rigging, the commission said the truck distributing ballot papers was escorted by the police to the local storage site in Hammarsdale.
The storage sites will be manned by police on a 24-hour basis to ensure they “are protected against unauthorised entry, burglary, and tampering with election material and ensure detailed control and recording of all the items in storage”.
Reacting to the MKP members who were camping outside the IEC’s provincial warehouse, the commission cautioned that no party members were allowed to be at the provincial warehouse where the ballots were stored.
“We instruct the MK Party leadership to immediately leave the warehouse as the commission needs to finalise the distribution of election material.”
Both former president Jacob Zuma and his diehard backer, former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, now leader of the African Congress for Transformation (ACT), have made allegations that the ANC would potentially rig the elections, without providing any evidence.
In a separate incident, an IEC presiding officer was dramatically awoken and questioned about the bulk IEC material stored at the Baptist Church voting station in Chesterville.
In reaction, the IEC said: “The commission strongly condemns threats to its staff. No party nor its representatives have the authority to gain access to private homes of electoral staff. Worse still, no party nor its representative may take control of election material without being authorised.”
However, Mdunge said the allegations of the harassment of an IEC official in Chesterville were untrue. He said they received a report about more IEC packages found at a mortuary in Chesterville.
“There was one person who works at the mortuary who was in full possession of the IEC material. This time it was not ballot papers – it was the boxes that give you directions to go to specific areas during the elections, but they were all sealed, and were of a huge size and stored at the mortuary.”
They had asked police to open a criminal charge and arrest the man but the police said they would make an occurrence book (OB) entry to record the incident, he said.
The commission has since issued a stern warning, saying that no disruptions of elections would be tolerated.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda declined to comment about the incident.
During a briefing on Sunday, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) warned it would repel any attempts to disrupt the polls.
ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele laughed off the MKP allegations, saying they were a deliberate ploy to mislead the electorate.
“The MK Party is using this as an excuse because they see that they will lose the elections.”
Political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said the incident would not tarnish the image of the IEC.
“But the likelihood is that political parties would use this incident to attack the IEC should the result not go in their favour.”
Addressing the nation on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa reflected on the incident.
“We urge all parties, all candidates, supporters, and all South Africans to refrain from any action that could interfere with the due process of the electoral process. Regardless of the outcome, let this election further entrench our democracy and strengthen our commitment to uphold precious democracy.”
The police announced last week that 17 000 officers will be deployed in KZN.
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