MK Party calls for immediate resignation of IEC Commissioner Janet Love

12 April 2024

After much considerable reflexion, MK party condemns Janet Love’s conduct and therefore calls for her resignation as Commissioner of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) with immediate effect for her blatant acts of bias.

As MK Party, we were prepared to give Ms Love, who has been a loyal serving member of the ANC and a close confidante of President Ramaphosa the benefit of the doubt. But in light of the above, we have now come to the conclusion that Janet Love is highly vested in the outcomes of the upcoming elections and cannot be trusted to oversee nor be involved in these elections.

In a landmark judgment, the Electoral Court recently sided with the MK Party and former President Jacob Zuma, overturning the decision by the (IEC) that sought to disqualify President Zuma from contesting in the upcoming elections as a candidate for MK Party. This verdict not only underscores a defeat against Ramaphosa-ANC and all its treacherous allies, but also casts a spotlight on the prejudicial conduct of IEC Commissioner, Janet Love.

The basis for our legitimate call for her removal, is due to her obnoxious behaviour on the 24 January 2024, before an objection was lodged regarding the eligibility of President Zuma to participate in the parliamentary elections.

Janet Love, in an unprecedented move, publicly declared nationally that President Zuma would not be eligible and couldn’t be included in the MK Party’s parliamentary candidate list.

This pronouncement was not only premature and unwarranted, but also in direct violation of the established IEC rules which stipulate that such declarations can only be made following an official objection.

At the time of Janet Love’s statement, no such objection had been filed, making her actions both irregular and prejudicial to President Zuma and the MK Party. What made things worse is that, even after the obviously orchestrated objection which was launched by a member of the ANC, she still presided within the committee responsible for deciding on President Zuma’s eligibility, instead of recusing herself. Despite the clear conflict of interest.

Such a rogue act of arrogance, has according to MK party, clearly undermined the credibility of the IEC and its capacity to administer free and fair elections, which cannot afford to harbour any sense of bias and should be beyond reproach.

The MK Party is committed to the integrity of South Africa’s electoral process, a commitment that necessitates an electoral commission whose members embody impartiality and ought to uphold the highest standards of fairness.

Unfortunately, Janet Love’s actions have significantly eroded our confidence in her ability to fulfil these critical requirements. In light of these concerns, and in the interest of preserving the sanctity of our electoral system, the MK Party formally calls for the immediate resignation of Commissioner Janet Love from the IEC.

This call is further supported by recent events, in May 2023 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where four prominent opposition candidates highlighted Janet Love’s controversial involvement in the audit of the DRC’s voter registration. These candidates, representing a broad spectrum of DRC’s political and civil society, accused Janet Love of legitimizing a flawed electoral process, an accusation that has serious implications for the credibility of any electoral observation or audit she is part of.

We are even called to question if President Ramaphosa had deployed his friend in the form of Janet Love, to the DRC as an electoral agent to interfere with electoral processes so as to protect the business interests of his family and funders who own mines in the war-torn DRC.

Our commitment to free, fair, and credible elections is unwavering, and we will take all necessary steps to ensure that South Africa’s electoral body remains independent and unbiased.

Should Janet Love fail to resign in the next 7 days, the MK Party reserves the right to pursue all available avenues to address this issue, including approaching our courts.

Issued by Nhlamulo Ndhlela, Communications and Media, MK Party, 12 April 2024