EFF: ConCourt’s judgment shows ‘IEC being run by ANC-deployed cadres’

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)‚ like most of the major political parties‚ said it “welcomes” the Constitutional Court judgment on the need for addresses to be recorded on the voters’ roll.

Party spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi on Wednesday noted the court’s determination that “the failure to compile a voters’ roll with available addresses is inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid”.

“It is inconceivable that 13 years after the Electoral Act was promulgated‚ parliament and the Department of Home Affairs failed to hold the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) accountable on this obligation‚” said Ndlozi.

Also read: EFF calls for IEC to bar ANC from participating in some regions in coming elections

“It served the ruling party well that such an omission perpetuated its grip on power corruptly in a flawed voters’ roll for the subsequent elections of 2004‚ 2005‚ 2009‚ 2011 and 2014.

“The sitting government in both national and local sphere was elected on the basis of constitutionally inconsistent voters’ roll and they can therefore not claim popular legitimacy.”

Whilst at pains to stress the “criticism of the IEC is not born out of malice”‚ Ndlozi said the ConCourt had “vindicated us on that IEC is improperly being run by ANC-deployed cadres who will miss no opportunity to bring the elections in this country into disrepute”.

He also called for “Parliament to set up an ad hoc committee to…investigate the circumstances around the 13 years’ failure to comply with the Electoral Act by the commission and failure of Parliament to pick up the red flag from the inept Portfolio Committees on Home Affairs ever since established from 2003”.

The ConCourt ruled that the IEC’s actions on the voters’ roll were unconstitutional‚ and gave it 18 months to rectify it.

The IEC had applied to the Constitutional Court on an urgent basis to provide clarity on a decision handed down by the Electoral Court that said it must provide the addresses of registered voters in elections.

Ndlozi said the “EFF welcomes the court’s bid to avoid a constitutional crisis as there is no provision in the laws for postponement of elections by suspending the declaration of invalidity until June 30‚ 2018 so that the August 3 local government elections should continue on the basis of the current status quo of a voters’ roll with incomplete addresses of registered voters...” 

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