ANC deems by-elections unjust

POLOKWANE – The ANC’s Peter Mokaba branch in Bendor, lodged a formal complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), ahead of yesterday’s (Wednesday) by-election in the city’s ward 23, which includes Bendor.

The formal complaint was lodged against candidature Roelof Lourens, who was contesting the ward on behalf of the DA.

ANC regional task team coordinator, Eugene Masethe, said the ANC had raised the matter with the IEC in vain, and deemed the by-election unfair and unjust. “Until last Wednesday, he (Lourens) was a proportional representative (PR) councillor in the Greater Tubatse Municipality. The timing of his resignation was opportune for the purposes of contesting these by-elections; this cannot be a coincidence,” Masethe said.

“He was just parachuted into ward 23, and he does not even feature on its voters roll for these by-elections. According to the IEC’s records, he is registered in ward 22 of the Polokwane Municipality, and this should disqualify him from participating in ward 23’s by-election,” he further said.

Masethe went on to say the ANC viewed this as “electoral fraud”, as the IEC regulations stated that any person contesting elections in a ward, should be a registered voter of that particular ward.

DA Limpopo leader, Jacques Smalle, said IEC rules stated that a candidate had to reside within the municipal area that he or she stood as candidate, and on Monday, the IEC had handed down a verdict that Lourens would not be disqualified. “The address is a temporary address, as he is leasing a house pending him finding a permanent residence.”

• On the IEC’s website, it is clearly stipulated that: “the candidate must be registered as a voter on that municipal segment of the voters’ roll”.