DA to take SABC to court over election ads

1 June 2016

Johannesburg - The DA is taking legal action against the SABC after the public broadcaster refused to have its local government election campaign advertisements aired, it said on Tuesday.

"Icasa and the SABC have not responded to our protest. We have paid for that advertising. We wanted it flighted. We are entitled to have it flighted. The Electoral Act allows it to have it flighted. They are stalling it," an impassioned DA mayoral candidate Athol Trollip ‎told journalists.

Trollip said, because Icasa had not responded to its protest, they were now taking the matter to the courts.

"That is a subtle kind of undermining of democratic activity... We are briefing our attorneys to take this matter to court," he said.

Trollip, along with the party's mayoral candidates in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, held a press briefing to challenge the ANC to reveal its mayoral candidates. He said this would allow the DA to go head to head with them in public debates.

He said the DA had been able to campaign freely, with minimal violence on the ground.

"By and large, South Africans don't have an appetite for violence. South Africans have embraced democracy. I think they will do so again on August 3."‎

Trollip said this year's election would be a two-horse race between the DA and the ANC.

"The DA has been here for a very long time as opposition, preparing ourselves to govern. That's why we believe it's a two-horse race," he said.

"We are going after every single vote that belongs to each and every political party. We have commitments and partnership with other parties to make sure that happens... We have long ago come to realise that the IEC is not reliable...

"The IEC have been exposed as being deficient in their responsibility. We don't count solely on them. We are going to take every single step to make sure that every vote is guarded. The opportunity for trickery is getting less and less in this country."

This article first appeared on News24, see here.