NELSPRUIT – The political parties which will contest the forthcoming elections in Mpumalanga are on board to play by the rules. They congregated at Emnotweni Casino last week to sign the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) code of conduct.
In her keynote address, chairman Adv Pansy Tlakula said she was happy to note that 20 years after the country’s first democratic elections, multiparty democracy was flourishing.
The programme director, Mr Masego Sheburi, the provincial executive of Gauteng, encouraged parties not to fight over votes. “Consider the following: there are more than 1,8 million voters registered in Mpumalanga. Hence there are more voters than parties and there are enough votes for every party.”
Mr Steve Ngwenya, the IEC’s provincial executive in Mpumalanga, said the commission was ready to deliver free and fair elections on May 7. A total of 16 parties will contest the provincial elections.
Ngwenya commended the South African Local Government Association for ensuring that the playing field had been levelled between parties of different sizes. He noted that the IEC had received no complaints from them about access to community facilities and that all municipalities had waived the required fees for putting up posters.
Mr Mosotho Moepya, CEO of the IEC, added that they were ready for the elections in 42 days. “We will never go into an election with technology we have not tested. Neither will we ever go into an election with staff we have not tested,” he assured those present.
