Nelson Mandela Bay election not free and fair - ANC

Port Elizabeth – The ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay has lodged complaints with the IEC regarding the outcome of the elections, saying they considered the election not free and fair.

Briefing media at the IEC results centre in the region, regional task team convener Bheza Ntshona said the party was lodging the complaints based on the discovery of marked ballot papers in a tent at the back of the venue.

He said they had also noted irregularities in the handling of the election process, including delays with voting as well as misplaced ballot papers.

"We have also noted irregularities to such an extent that we consider the elections not free and fair. The result of these elections, while not yet final, will not reflect the will of the people in Nelson Mandela Bay," he said.

The party had raised concerns with the IEC even before the counting began, he said, and was not reacting to the tight election outcome.

He said there had also been ballot boxes found at various locations around the metro, and most of them had ANC votes.

"It seems that these ballot boxes had been misplaced in order to hide the fact that ANC votes were not counted in the system," he said. The party said they were waiting for the outcome of the counting process. 

Case reported to the police

Ntshona said the infrastructure for running the election in Nelson Mandela Bay townships had been inadequate. "Eight voting stations had to be moved. Each of these matters had been communicated to the IEC as soon as they were detected," he said.

Meanwhile Eastern Cape provincial electoral officer Thami Mraji said that a case had also been opened with police regarding the ballot papers."Police are investigating, so the matter is sub judice," he said. Mraji said he could not provide details on the incident as he had not received a full report.

He also declined to mention who had opened the case against the IEC.

However, the ANC's Nceba Faku earlier confirmed to News24 that the ANC had opened a case with the police.

Police tape has since been placed at the back of the results centre.  

This article first appeared on News24.