AgangSA members today protested at the head offices of the IEC as Women's Organiser Vanessa Hani handed over a Memorandum calling for Free and Fair elections and the ability to campaign freely in 2014.

Sy Mamabolo, Deputy CEO of the IEC receieved the Memorandum, acknowlegding that the ability for politcal parties to campaign freely was critical for the conduct of free and fair elections. He asked AgangSA members to report all ingfringments of the right to campaign. 

STATEMENT IN FULL 

On behalf of the National and Provincial Leaderships and all of the members of AgangSA, we are today submitting this Memorandum calling for Free and Fair elections.

We are here today at the IEC offices, excerising our rights as citizens under section 17, Assembly - the freedom of peaceful, demonstration, picketing and petitioning.

Since the launch of AgangSA as a political party in June, there has been a growing number of incidents of intimidation.

Away from the attention of the media a pattern of systematic corruption of the political process has emerged.

In Mzombane, Mokopane, in July, an AgangSA-organised community meeting was disrupted when a local ANC councilor brazenly gate-crashed it and told some members of the crowd to follow him if they wanted candles, food parcels and jobs.

In August in Bela Bela's Section 28, the local ANC mayor demanded to be given audience at an AgangSA organized community meeting, attempting to cause havoc. The regional party leadership had to call the police to remove him.

ANC councilors wormed their way into AgangSA functions in the Western Cape trying to make a nuisance of themselves.

Then in Bloemfontein last month the hall management was intimidated into not opening up for us despite AgangSA having booked and paid. On that occasion ANC members had been trucked in as part of the ruling party's intimidation tactics.

Then on Sunday, the final straw. In a tragic turn of events, AgangSA member Nyako Masenya was murdered during the launch of an AgangSA branch in Uitkyk, Bochum, Limpopo.

Enough is enough. Our people did not fight and die in the struggle so that nearly 20 years after freedom we are still not free to exercise freedom of association and political rights protected under the Constitution.

After 20 years of ANC governement, corruption is affecting every sphere of South African public life. We are determined to ensure that the cancer of corruption will not spread to the conduct of free and fair elections.

The protections in the Bill of Rights state that:

Every citizen has the right to freedom of association

Every citizen is free to make political choices, which includes the right:

a. to form a political party;

b. to participate in the activities of, or recruit members for, a political party; and

c. to campaign for a political party or cause.

1. Every citizen has the right to free, fair and regular elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution.

2. Every adult citizen has the right ­

a. to vote in elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution, and to do so in secret; and to stand for public office and, if elected, to hold office

We have seen what happened in Zimbabwe and AgangSA is determined that we shall not let the ANC Zanufy South African politics. Keep your eyes wide-open citizens because this government is doing it under your noses.

The foundations of our constitutional democracy are being systematically attacked: the judicial system, the freedom of the press, accountability of government and the human rights of all citizens.

So we will not let Citizen Masenya die in vain. In his honour we are inpsired to launch today AgangSA's "Free and Fair" campaign.

We are calling on the IEC to be vigilant in fulfilling it's obligations to ensure that the 2014 elections are free and fair, in accordance with South African and International law. Remember that once again, the world will be watching us.

We are calling on the citizens of South Africa to support the IEC in its work and to protect its indepdence. We must all be watching.

Let me say this loud and clear. AgangSA will not be intimidated and we will not let our supporters be intimidated.

Any intimdation will be reported to the police.

To all those who would seek to corrupt our democracy, here this loud and clear, you are wasting you time, you cannot stop the unstoppable.

You cannot stop a rising tide. You cannot stop the people as they rise up and stand for dignity, freedom and equality. We are immovable. We will not rest until we fulfill our pledge to restore the promise of freedom for every South African. 

Statement issued by Vanessa Hani, Women's Organiser, AgangSA, October 11 2013

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