DA refers Ace Magashule to IEC for alleged vote buying

14 April 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has laid a complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) against ANC Secretary General, Ace Magashule, following the emergence of a video where he is seen handing over a R400 to a woman whilst on the campaign trial.

The DA is of the view that Magashule’s stunt is tantamount to vote buying and an infringement of clause 9 (2) (a) (iii) of Schedule 2 of the Electoral Act.

The IEC’s Code of Conduct explicitly prohibits the use of a financial inducement to gain a vote for a political party.

The ANC’s desperation to hold onto power knows no bounds. Over the past week the ANC has been at the center of violent protests across DA-led municipalities and now they are openly seen to seemingly buy votes.

Magashule single-handledly destroyed the Free State province and government by looting public money. The amount that he has allegedly stolen is unknown at this point, because Magashule has been protected by Ramaphosa’s ANC for decades.

To exploit the plight of poor South Africans in the manner that he has done is degrading. The reality is that under an ANC government over 50% of South African families are poor and almost 10 million people are unemployed. This is an ANC created problem that they are now pretending to solve by handing out money on the campaign trail. To trap people into poverty and they bait them with money in exchange for their votes is appalling even for the ANC.

The DA will not sit by in silence and watch as the ANC uses dirty tricks to influence the outcomes of the elections.

The ANC is clearly incapable of conducting a free and fair election and it is up to the IEC to hold them to account.

Issued by Mike Moriarty, DA Principle Representative of the Party Liaison Committee on the IEC, 14 April 2019