About 1 100 voters are believed to have been irregularly registered in a by-election at the Abaqulusi (Vryheid) municipality.
|||Durban - About 1 100 voters are believed to have been irregularly registered in a by-election at the Abaqulusi (Vryheid) Municipality, northern KwaZulu-Natal, an investigation by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has revealed.
This comes as the MEC for co-operative governance has postponed a by-election at eThekwini’s ward 39, following allegations that people who do not live in the area were being brought in by bus to register there.
Meanwhile, another investigation is continuing into similar claims that led to a by-election in Jozini being postponed earlier this year.
Provincial electoral officer Mawethu Mosery said in all three cases the IEC expected police would follow up and investigate criminal offences.
Regarding the findings at Abaqulusi, Mosery said the commission would now communicate with the people thought to be irregularly registered.
Only once the irregularities were confirmed would it lead to the voters roll being amended.
The Ward 22 by-election had to be postponed in April following an Electoral Court application brought against the commission by a former ward councillor.
Andre Lotter, a former ANC councillor who planned to contest the election as an independent candidate, made allegations that as many as 2 000 people had been brought into his ward, saying members of the IFP and the ANC were behind this.
The by-election at eThekwini’s ward 39 (KwaMashu Hostel) was postponed following a recommendation from the IEC, which had received an objection pertaining to the registration of voters.
Mosery said previous Electoral Court decisions had pointed out that the IEC needed to investigate all objections and satisfy itself whether those were true or not.
He reiterated concerns made by the commission chairman last month that the IEC was deeply concerned about the rise in the number of electoral fraud cases in KZN, especially regarding the bringing in of voters by bus.
Advocate Pansy Tlakula last month told members of the legislature that the bringing in of people into wards in which they were not eligible to vote had become a huge problem in the province.
After that meeting the IEC met various political parties where such issues were raised again.
No new dates have been set for the three by-elections.
The ANC said electoral fraud was a source of conflict in many parts of the world and should not be tolerated. “It is therefore important that we deal with those who engage in electoral fraud harshly,” the party said in a statement.
bheki.mbanjwa@inl.co.za
Daily News