Constitutional Court castigates IEC

14 June 2016

The FF Plus welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court that the election will continue on 3 August of this year, despite the problems with the voters roll, Dr. Pieter Groenewald, chairperson of the FF Plus said.

Dr. Groenewald said the judgment makes it clear that the integrity of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is suspect as the court found that the IEC had not met its statutory or legal obligations in terms of the Electoral Act.

He said it means that the actions of the IEC, one of the core pillars of our constitutional democracy which had found that elections to date had been free and fair, is now suspect.

“The judgment makes it clear that the IEC had not fulfilled its legal obligations with regards to the voters roll and this judgment of the Constitutional Court is a compromise in the interest of democracy to allow the elections to go ahead on 3 August.

“The court, however, also makes it clear that any future elections will have to strictly adhere to all legal requirements, which means that the IEC will now have to ensure that all voters on the voters roll must have addresses which can be verified,” Dr. Groenewald said.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus MP and Chairperson, 14 June 2016