IEC faces ballot box controversy in eMbalenhle and Standerton
Police arrest an IEC official in Standerton.
An Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) presiding officer was arrested on November 7, facing fraud and corruption charges in Standerton.
The arrest followed complaints from political parties about the manner in which ballot boxes were handled after the closing of a voting station in Ward 11, in Sakhile on November 4.
Party representatives and community members protested outside the IEC offices on the morning of November 5. They accused an IEC official of removing and transporting unsealed ballot boxes from voting stations without a police escort.
The protesters reportedly followed the official to the IEC offices but could not find him when they arrived. He allegedly arrived some time later.
The police were informed, and forensic personnel were also summoned. The ballot boxes were subsequently placed in quarantine.
One politician, who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation, described what allegedly happened when the official arrived at the IEC offices at around 03:00.
“We were shocked when the official arrived at the IEC offices about two hours later. It was still dark, and he could not see us because we were sitting inside our cars.
“He got out of his vehicle and opened the boot but did not offload the boxes. We approached him and asked him to open the boot because we wanted to see the ballot boxes, but he refused.
“It was only after the centre manager came out of the office and instructed him to open the boot that he did so. We found all the ballot boxes were unsealed.
“We also found that the special votes ballot boxes were still in his possession, with their seal tapes removed,” the politician said.
The protesters further claimed that the ballot boxes were not only from Ward 11 but also from other voting stations.
They questioned the integrity of the electoral process and called on the IEC to involve law enforcement agencies in addressing the allegations.
“We feel that our elections were not free and fair. We want the IEC to involve law enforcement in this because we always experience problems during elections due to corrupt officials.
“We also want the IEC to change its recruitment strategy before elections. The issue of employing teachers is causing problems for political parties because teachers will not be neutral, as they are affiliated with unions aligned with certain political parties. There are many unemployed people who can do this work without taking sides,” the politician said.
A case was opened at the Sakhile Police Station. However, Thanduxolo Chembeni, the Mpumalanga IEC spokesperson, said the ballot boxes had been sealed and correctly transported.
“The ballots were not quarantined.”
ALSO READ: WATCH: Unsealed ballot boxes arrive at IEC offices in Standerton
Chembeni said the area manager did his job well and there is no need to investigate if he was fit for the role as an area manager.
“The IEC confirms its integrity in the handling of ballots on November 5 without compromise,” said Chembeni.
The arrested official was set to appear IEC official was set to appear before the Standerton Magistrate’s Court on November 9.
The elections have also been marred by controversy in eMbalenhle. Tensions arose at a Ward 29 voting station on November 2, when party agents allegedly prevented an IEC presiding officer from removing ballot boxes from the station after closing time.
The agents reportedly alleged that the ballot boxes had not been properly sealed and questioned why the official intended to transport them to the IEC offices without a law enforcement escort.
The disagreement escalated to the eMbalenhle Police Station, where the parties reportedly agreed that the matter should be referred to the Mpumalanga IEC.
A similar incident allegedly occurred at a Ward 12 voting station, where an IEC official and political party agents argued over the removal of ballot boxes that had allegedly not been sealed.
Police intervened, and the matter was eventually resolved. Political party representatives alleged that the official had been collecting ballot boxes from voting stations without police escorts.
ALSO READ: R231m eMbalenhle-Secunda road project gets under way
Meanwhile, disgruntled Ward 12 residents gathered at their usual meeting place on November 6 to protest against the African National Congress (ANC) councillor candidate, whom they believe has already secured victory, despite the official election results not yet having been announced.
The residents said they did not want the candidate to represent them as their councillor, claiming they had not voted for her. They also raised concerns about alleged irregularities at one of the voting stations after the polls had closed.
The disgruntled residents said they were preparing to submit a petition to the ANC Gert Sibande Regional Offices to raise their concerns about the alleged irregularities and the councillor candidate.
A community member, who served as a political party agent at the Living Water Ministries voting station in Extension 18, questioned the circumstances surrounding a power outage during the counting of ballots.
“The electricity went off while we were busy counting ballots. The IEC officials used their cellphones to provide light so that we could continue counting.We suspect that something might have happened behind our backs,” the community member said.
Chembeni said the area manager responsible for voting stations within one ward was responsible to transport ballots back to the IEC warehouse as a roll-back activity.
He said the ballots were sealed and if the quality of sealing was compromised, it might have been due to the ballot boxes being opened during the counting processes just to obtain the ballot papers from them.
“The area managers are responsible to transport the ballot boxes from the stations to the IEC warehouse after counting. There is no matter to resolve as the transporting of used material after counting is done by the area manager,” said Chembeni.
