The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has dismissed allegations of electoral fraud in the recent George by-elections, saying it concluded that all voters were correctly registered.
This follows allegations of voter registration fraud against the DA brought by the GOOD Party.
The party said the evidence included a list of names of residents of Thembalethu, who were allegedly fraudulently re-registered as residents of Borcherds by the DA.
In another complaint, GOOD Party alleged 188 voters were registered on the voters roll at the same address in Ward 16, where a second by-election was scheduled.
By-elections were held in Ward 16, Ward 20 and Ward 27 in George last week.
Responding to allegations brought by the GOOD Party, IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said all the voters were correctly registered in the voting district and ward linked to their addresses.
“The Electoral Commission, in keeping with its obligation to ensure free and fair elections had considered the case of the 174 voters and concluded that all those voters were correctly registered in the voting district and ward linked to their addresses, and thus entitled to vote in the by-election.
“The affected voters were not, as alleged, new entrants on that ward segment of the voters roll.
“The voters have been historically registered in the voting district and in the ward.
“In fact, some have voted in previous elections, including the 2021 Local Government Elections.
“The Electoral Commission also confirms that all the 174 voters were not registered using any of the online platforms, given that their registrations pre-date the introduction of electronic means of registration.
“The addresses presented by voters when they applied for registration were used to update the details of these voters on the voters roll.
“An inadvertent error allocated a common address to the 174 voters when the given addresses were checked against the ward boundaries.
“This is normal practice for wards with prospective by-elections,” Bapela said.
GOOD Party secretary-general and MP, Brett Herron, said they had lodged a formal objection.
“We believe the IEC has failed in upholding its duty of ensuring that elections are free and fair. This is a shocking failure by the body tasked with maintaining the integrity of our democratic system.
“On the by-election day, GOOD Party agents lodged various objections in terms of Section 51(1A), all of which were ignored.
“GOOD maintains that the full extent of the fraud is unknown.
“We demand a full-scale investigation.
“We shall await the outcome of our formal objection before making further comment,“ Herron said.
DA provincial leader Tertius Simmers welcomed the outcome.
“The DA expects that GOOD and their secretary-general, Brett Herron, accept their defeat, respect democracy, and move on.
“Casting further aspersion on the George by-elections will only add to the foul taste GOOD has left in the mouths of South Africans who had to witness them making embarrassing allegations to save what they were bound to lose.”
Cape Times