3 minute read
22 Nov 2019
11:10 am
A voter gets her thumb marked before casting her vote in Mamelodi, Pretoria, 8 May 2019. Picture: Jacques Naude / African News Agency (ANA)
During the May 8 elections, multiple reports were received that some marks made with “indelible ink” pens used by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) – which were meant to be visible for at least a week after voting closed – washed off easily with soap.
Now the South African branch of international publication Business Insider has filed an application with the high court demanding that the IEC come clean on where they got the dodgy pens.
They say they “asked nicely” for six months, and have now resorted to taking legal action due to what they consider a violation of the Public Access to Information Act.
This after the IEC committed to demanding answers from its suppliers as to how the faulty pens made it to polling stations, but allegedly didn’t.
The pens were procured by a Bidvest subsidiary, according to the publication, who are allegedly blocking attempts to get to the bottom of how such a serious breach of democratic processes took place.
Business Insider wants to force the IEC to hand over the bidding documents which resulted in the suppliers of the pens being chosen.
READ MORE: The IEC calls it a ‘partial reality’, but my voter ink has completely rubbed off
These pens are meant to ensure the “one voter, one vote” principle, with a dot drawn on voters’ left thumbs to ensure they don’t vote again. However, multiple reports that people had managed to vote more than once were received.
Nine people were arrested for double voting.
One of those who complained that his thumb dot came off easily was The Citizen digital editor Charles Cilliers, who wrote a column about his experience at the time.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo raised eyebrows at the time when he said the allegations about the ink were only “a partial reality”, because he had reports of ink coming off, and other reports of it not coming off.
Business Insider SA said: “Who, exactly, made those pens is hugely important. Unless the law changes – and that is unlikely – such indelible ink pens will be in use in future elections.
“If they fail again, trust in the voting system that underpins our democracy will be eroded. And that could very easily happen if a different South African company imports pens from the exact same manufacturer next time around, without the public being any the wiser.”
The publication’s founding papers can be read here.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)
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