DA disappointed at IEC’s court appeal in precedent setting case

24 May 2022

The DA notes that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has filed an application for leave to appeal against the Electoral Court's order against the IEC over its conduct in the ward 13, by-election in Umdoni Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. (see here)

The DA was forced to approach the Electoral Court after our belief that the IEC had failed to suitably verify 235 suspicious voters that we believed had fraudulently registered to vote in the marginal by-election, where the DA has a 37-vote majority.

The court found in the DA’s favour and compelled the IEC to go door-to-door, if needed, to ascertain if these voters did in fact reside in the ward. To date, the IEC has failed to comply with the order of the court and has now decided to waste more money in the hope that the Supreme Court of Appeal will find in their favour. (see here)

That the IEC has continued to persist with this application should be deeply worrying for South Africans, as it is an indication that the IEC does not believe it has to verify the authenticity of voters, and if they are correctly registered.

What deeply worries the IEC is that this case may lead to confirmation by the Constitutional Court and an amendment to the Electoral Act, which will require that all voters are correctly registered to vote by means of some form of proof that they live in the ward.

The DA will oppose their application for leave to appeal in order to protect South Africans' constitutional rights to free and elections.

In the end, it is the residents of ward 13 in Umdoni municipality that have been without a councillor for 5 months due to the IEC’s opposition to doing their job.

Issued by Dean Macpherson, DA KZN Chairperson, 24 May 2022