The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has launched a complaint with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) following claims that several individuals, whose names were in the voters’ roll of the highly contested Abaqulusi Municipality ward 23 Vryheid by-election, were not from the area.

The Witness reports that ANC provincial spokesperson Fanle Sibisi said the party took a dim view of the manipulation of voter rolls.

“The ANC reiterates that any attempt, intentional or otherwise, to manipulate the voters’ roll constitutes an attack on democracy and must be addressed with immediate and decisive corrective action.

“The ANC remains resolute in its commitment to defending the democratic rights of the people of ward 23 and the broader Abaqulusi community.

“As a custodian of democracy, the ANC will continue to monitor this matter closely and will not hesitate to take further action to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.

The by-election, which will be held on Wednesday next week, follows the death of an ANC ward councillor.

Since the beginning of the year, the ANC has been complaining that some political parties were bringing in individuals from outside to vote in by-elections.

In April the ANC in KZN lodged a complaint with the IEC, claiming that hundreds of voters were fraudulently registered for the eThekwini Municipality’s ward 110 by-election.

According to the ANC 135 people had provided the same address when registration to vote during the eThekwini Municipality ward 110 by election.

The MK Party went on to win the eThekwini ward 110 by election.

The IEC, which is yet to announce the outcome of its investigation into the ANC’s Abaqulusi Municipality’s ward 23 claims, said voting in a ward which one did not reside in was not allowed.

“Voters are reminded that it is a criminal offence to register and vote in a ward in which they are not ordinarily resident,” the IEC said.