Pretoria -
Agang SA's claims of irregularities at voting stations should be raised through the usual channels, the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) said on Wednesday.
“Agang knows exactly what they are supposed to do (when they have a complaint),” IEC spokeswoman Kate Bapela said.
“There is no political party in this day and age (that does not know that), that's why all political parties that come to the IEC become part of the party liaison committee.”
The party had tweeted a photo of its leader Mamphela Ramphele where she confronted an IEC officer carrying ballot papers.
The caption with the photo read: “Citizen (at)MamphelaR busted an official with ballot papers in her hands. #IECMustAnswer.”
The party claimed that ballot boxes were not sealed at a station in Gauteng and an IEC official was found marking ballots for the African National Congress.
Bapela would not comment on the individual claims but said AgangSA was well aware of the procedures parties could follow when they had complaints.
She said complaints were dealt with first at local level at the particular voting station.
When it could not be resolved, it was referred to the national results centre in Pretoria where it was dealt with by a political party liaison committee. The IEC also had a legal team at the results centre.
“What they do in the event that they pick something up undesirable they lay a complaint,” Bapela said.
“If there is a complaint at a local level they can deal with it, every political party has a representative at a provincial and national level.
At national level we have a chief operating officer and deputy and a big legal team,” she said. - Sapa