ACDP says DA spreading fear through SMSes

CAPE TOWN- 140317- The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Chairperson Grant Haskin (pictured on right) and Seedstone Fund Advisor's Chief Operations Officer Steven Lukey (on left) discuss the account of CTICC and difficulties concerning their cooperation today at the provincial legislature building- Reporter:Warda Meyer Photo: Kenneth Klemens

CAPE TOWN- 140317- The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Chairperson Grant Haskin (pictured on right) and Seedstone Fund Advisor's Chief Operations Officer Steven Lukey (on left) discuss the account of CTICC and difficulties concerning their cooperation today at the provincial legislature building- Reporter:Warda Meyer Photo: Kenneth Klemens

Published Jul 22, 2016

Share

Cape Town - The DA’s electioneering via SMS has raised the anger of political rivals who say the campaign is aimed at discrediting parties and discourages people from voting for smaller parties.

The ACDP lodged a complaint against the DA with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for what it perceived as a breach of the electoral code of conduct while the EFF was still weighing up its options.

The SMSes sent by the DA read: “The EFF wants to bring back violence and chaos. They’re too extreme to be trusted to govern SA”; “Zuma’s ANC=more empty promises & corruption.”; and “You are hearing more empty promises from a corrupt president.”

EFF provincial leader Bernard Josephs said they were also considering taking the matter to the IEC and added the DA was running scared.

“The EFF is going to bring about radical change and the DA is spreading fear, using dirty tricks to encourage people to vote for them,” he said.

The ACDP’s Grant Haskin said they were disappointed by what “appears to be fear-mongering, misleading and disingenuous electioneering tactics being employed by the DA”.

Haskins quoted political analyst, Professor Steven Friedman, who wrote on Facebook: “I have just received an SMS message from the DA which tells opposition voters that they must vote for the DA because a vote for another opposition party will split the opposition vote and benefit the ANC. Municipal voters need to be aware that this claim is false.”

The ACDP called on the DA to “admit their transgressions, immediately cease this particular campaign messaging and apologise”.

However, federal chairman James Selfe said there was nothing illegal or unlawful about the DA’s campaign.”The SMS represents the reality, rather than the abstract reasoning of Steven Friedman,” Selfe said.

He said there were 203 parties or community organisations contesting the upcoming local government elections and the vast majority of these “would not get representation on any council anywhere in South Africa”.

Selfe said casting a vote for a smaller party would result in the ANC winning by default.

Selfe said the EFF would have to prove that the SMS about them was inaccurate, adding that its leader had said the EFF wants to “bring about change through the barrel of a gun”.

[email protected]

Cape Argus

Related Topics: