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The IEC said it received more than 200 objections to the formation of the party.
Image for illustrative purposes. Picture: The Citizen
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on Saturday confirmed that it has rejected the application of the Islamic State of Africa (ISA) to register as a political party.
Farhad Hoomer, the man who formed ISA, has previously been accused of terrorism in South Africa. He is also suspected by authorities in the United States (US) of being the leader of a Islamic State (Isis) cell operating in South Africa.
ISA intended to bring Sharia law to South Africa
In May, Hoomer said he had started ISA because he wanted to introduce Sharia law to South Africa.
“It was easy for me to lie and make a false name and come into politics. But, I wanted to make it clear from day one that we want Sharia law because there is too much injustice in the world, especially with democracy enslaving all of mankind,” Hoomer told SAFM.
The IEC has now put that on hold.
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IEC rejects application
It said it rejected ISA’s application on three grounds.
The first is that ISA did not submit the required 300 signatures from registered voters that support the formation of the party.
The second reason is that ISA published the notice of its application in a newspaper that is only circulated in small parts of the eThekwini municipality.
“The publication in only some parts of the municipal area is not sufficient to create awareness of the application,” the IEC said.
More than 200 objections
The third reason is that the IEC received more than 200 objections to the formation of ISA.
It said individuals and organisations took issue with the party’s “intention to develop policies based on Sharia law”.
The IEC added that the objectors claimed that part of ISA’s constitution is “antithetical to the secular and inclusive nature of the principles underpinning the South African constitutional order”. The objectors said this “would cause serious offence to a section of the population”.
There was also concern that ISA’s name was too similar to the Islamic State jihadist organisation (Isis/ISIL).
ISA has 30 days to appeal the IEC’s decision.
