The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has extended the deadline for objections lodged by various political parties that have complained about various incidents of alleged vote-rigging and voter result manipulation.
This comes after Ace Magashule and other leaders of political parties lodged more than 230 objections with the commission.
On Thursday, the commission indicated that the closing date would be Friday. However, in the spirit of fairness and transparency, IEC official Mosotho Moepya said the commission had decided to extend the deadline to Saturday, June 1, at 6pm.
“The commission has looked at those objections, and in terms of the prescript that governs the commission, I am pleased to indicate that the commission has in fact agreed to that request because there is a lot of goodwill that has not been shown throughout this election compilation process. We have therefore agreed that that process will continue until 6pm this (Saturday) afternoon,” he said.
On the issue raised by various political parties and the general criticism the commission has received for its handling of the elections, Moepya said the IEC welcomed constructive criticism and acknowledged some of the complaints that had been made.
The commission welcomed the constructive way of allowing political parties and independent candidates to bring their deeply felt concerns to the commission to engage, because this was very important in the electoral processes, he said.
The leadership of the MKP has called for calm amid accusations that the elections were compromised by a series of alleged voter manipulations and the rigging of certain votes.
On Friday, the IEC indicated that it had received more than 140 objections and appeals from various political parties.
The commission indicated that it would not announce the election results on Saturday due to objections and appeals.
The IEC’s deputy CEO, Mawethu Mosery, said the commission had received more than a hundred objections so far, and they planned to go through all of them.
On Saturday, while speaking to members of the media from the National Results Centre in Midrand, African Congress for Transformation (ACT) leader Ace Magashule accused the IEC of engaging in deliberate election fraud after some of his party’s votes were not reflected on the election slips.
Magashule accused the IEC of engaging in deliberate electoral fraud and rigging of votes in Fourways, Soweto, the Free State, and other parts of the country.
He said he had video evidence and other material, including that in one of the voting stations where his son had cast his vote, his party was reported to have achieved zero votes.
“In Kroonstad, which is our stronghold, we found ballot papers, and the ANC councillor was there. In Sasolburg, we found a presiding officer, and we have proof of all these things, which we have submitted to the IEC. In Fourways, where my son voted, our results showed zero.
“So, I am saying there is a deliberate attempt to steal our votes and sabotage our campaign. We filed our objections with the IEC before last night’s deadline,” Magashule said.
The Star