Kimberley - The Democratic Alliance (DA) has opened a criminal case against the ANC for allegedly defacing and unlawfully removing the party’s posters in Kathu in the Northern Cape
DA councillor in the Gamagara municipality Henriette du Plessis on Tuesday laid the charges at the Kathu Police Station after DA election posters in the area were apparently vandalised.
“We have laid charges for the criminal defamation of DA posters under section 92 of the Electoral Act.
“DA election posters were vandalised by a group of lawbreakers, clad in ANC T-shirts, many of whom are known ANC activists and supporters.
“They shamelessly pasted ANC posters and stickers over our posters and destroyed valuable DA campaign material,” Du Plessis claimed.
DA provincial leader, Andrew Louw, added that this act was unlawful and threatened “the very foundations of a free and fair election”.
“Parties must be given the scope to conduct their campaigns peacefully. The ANC might dislike our posters or feel threatened by them, but we have the right to display them and they are obligated by law and the electoral Code of Conduct to respect our right to do so.
“They are clearly becoming increasingly desperate and threatened by the DA’s growth in the area. The DA recently made significant inroads in this former stronghold of the ANC, signing up hundreds of new members,” Louw said.
He added that the ANC was “running scared and trying every dirty trick in the book because they know that the people of Mapoteng will be voting for change in their numbers”.
“We will be following the matter closely and will do everything in our power to ensure that the guilty parties are held accountable for their criminal wrongdoing.
“We will do this within the ambit of the law and with due respect for the need to let the law take its course. We will not allow ANC hooliganism to undermine our right to freely campaign,” Louw said.
Police spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Dimakatso Mooi confirmed that a case of contravention of Section 92 of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998, defacing and unlawfully removing and publish of posters had been opened at the Kathu Police Station but that no arrests had so far been made.
ANC provincial secretary Zamani Saul on Tuesday said it was in the process of investigating the matter but had not yet received a report regarding the incident.
“However, we need to mention that Mapoteng remains a stronghold of the ANC and we are confident that we will win that ward.
“Our comrades in Mapoteng are mature and have been trained on the Electorate Act.
“We are also noting that the opposition are attempting to play petty politics with the lives of our people in Mapoteng . . . the issues raised by the people in Mapoteng are genuine and our people know that it is only the ANC that is able to better their lives. The ANC will continue to deliver to the people of Gamagara,” Saul said.
Diamond Fields Advertiser