By Moshoeshoe Monare
The "anxious" Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will consider Plan B for possible early elections as the ANC's axe is aimed at President Thabo Mbeki this weekend.
The electoral commission's senior officials are meeting today (Thursday) for a workshop that will discuss the commission's logistical readiness in the event of early polls.
IEC chairperson Brigalia Bam told The Mercury on Wednesday that as much as the commission was planning its election preparations for April, it was worried about the political climate in the ANC.
"We are listening, we are reading, we are concerned and anxious," she said.
Bam said the commission would react to a change of electoral schedule only if parliament decided on it.
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"When parliament calls us, because they are our bosses, then we will sit with them and listen very carefully," Bam said.
The commission launched its 2009 elections logo and slogan, "To the future", at a function attended by ANC president Jacob Zuma and leaders of other parties on Wednesday.
Bam, however, said they were "ready for the minimum of seven months... a normal time provided in the constitution".
"We have systems that are permanently in place. But that does not mean that because we have those systems, we can run elections within 24 hours," she said.
Two senior electoral commission officials told The Mercury on Wednesday that for the first time the commission would consider the likelihood of an early election.
"We cannot ignore the political situation any longer. We will have to seriously consider Plan B," said one official.
But Bam raised the logistical problems.
"There are certain things that need a timeframe. For instance, printing of a ballot paper... because you must have the list coming from political parties.
"You can't do those kinds of thing in 24 hours because you have to write to political parties," she said.
The commission's chief electoral officer, Pansy Tlakula, said the commission had to be consulted first if there were changes to the electoral schedule.
"Consultation will go into looking into the state of preparedness," she said.
Bam said the commission would try to protect its integrity against any notion that it was conducting its business according to the ANC's internal woes.
"We have to do that because people begin to say that we listen to what one dominant party says, and we then lose our credibility," she said.
Luthuli House's intention to remove Mbeki follows Pietermaritzburg Judge Chris Nicholson's ruling that the president interfered with prosecutions in the charging of Zuma.
An SMS has been doing the rounds that Mbeki will be replaced by National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete.
A senior government official said the SMS had "rattled" most Union Building staffers and ministers.
"There is a mood of depression here."
The SMS was an indication that "it's all over".
"Word is that these guys are collapsing government," he said.
The ANC has distanced itself from the SMS, saying: "The national working committee has made no such decisions, nor does it have a mandate to make such decisions."
However, the national executive committee is likely to ask Mbeki to resign.
Militants such as ANC Youth League president Julius Malema are already fired up by the National Prosecuting Authority's decision to appeal against Judge Nicholson's judgment.
"The appeal makes our work easier. The national executive will now have to see that this man (Mbeki) will not retreat," said Malema.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Mercury on September 18, 2008
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