Durban - Next month’s local government elections will be the most fiercely contested in the country’s history with five or 10 votes being the difference between winning and losing in some cases, says the Electoral Commission.
IEC national chairman, Glen Mashinini, said: “We are charting new waters.”
He was speaking at an interfaith meeting to pray for peaceful elections hosted in Durban on Wednesday.
The elections have been characterised by increases in suspected political killings.
Most of the victims are believed to have been ANC members killed by fellow party members.
To date, it is believed that at least 10 people in KwaZulu-Natal have been killed in the fight for councillor positions.
Mashinini said the IEC faced a massive logistical task with more than 26 million eligible to vote at close to 23 000 voting stations.
“Even with the swing votes, where previously there were greater margins, that’s changed now - five or 10 people can make a difference in winning or losing,” he said.
“There are a large number of people who will be contesting the elections as independent candidates, the biggest number in history.”
Mashinini said the volatile political environment was affecting the IEC: about two weeks ago, disgruntled party members tried to burn down an IEC office in Delmas, Mpumalanga.
“They were hoping to burn the candidate list, hoping that would force the process to be started over again, but the candidates list is done electronically now.”
He said there was also contestation in the courts.
“Previously, if there was an issue, you could call party leaders and there would be a gentlemen’s understanding about the issue, but not now. No one gives an inch.”
He called on the party leaders and their supporters to desist from making inflammatory remarks and ensure that the elections were free and fair, saying the IEC could not do it alone.
Leaders of the clergy expressed fears that the election would not be free and fair.
The Rev Ian Booth, chairman of the Diakonia Council of Churches, said the killings were casting doubt on whether voters would be allowed to vote for the party of their choice in peace.
“There is a lot of intra-party killing, especially within the ANC.
“There is a fight for resources and positions for councillors,” he said.
The Mercury