Observers must interrogate voters’ roll, says Maimane

Published Jun 26, 2016

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Durban – Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane on Sunday called on international observers at the August 3 local government elections to “interrogate” the voters’ roll.

Maimane was speaking to journalists at the Hilton Hotel in Durban during a press conference on the outcomes of the DA’s federal council meeting held on Saturday.

“We can’t have international observers just walking around and deciding the elections are free and fair based on queues. We need them to interrogate what happens on the voters’ roll,” he said.

The DA would deploy significant manpower on election day to ensure that each of the 22,000 polling stations around the country were run according to the rules and regulations of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

“We don’t want the elections to be marred by discrepancies… change cannot happen through the barrel of a gun,” he said.

For the first time in its history, the DA would field a candidate in every ward in the country, making this the biggest campaign the official opposition had ever run.

“Our operation is the biggest and most comprehensive we have ever had in the history of the party. We must contest all wards as it builds infrastructure among communities. The DA is the only party that can contest among all racial groups in rural and urban areas,” Maimane said.

He rejected as “nonsense” suggestions that the electorate was being asked to choose between an alleged “black party” and a “white party”.

The only choice was between a government of patronage and corruption or a party that had a record of clean governance.

“This past week has shown that the stakes have never been higher. ANC factionalism has brought violence and put peoples’ lives in danger. For the ANC, government is about patronage and cronyism. It is about putting [President Jacob] Zuma’s pals in high places so that he can be protected and the connected elite can benefit,” Maimane said.

“2016 will be remembered as the most important year in the democratic history of South Africa. While we have made progress since 1994, the ANC has now put our country on the wrong path. We now have the opportunity to change this and ensure that we move in the right direction again. The direction that [former president] Nelson Mandela dreamed of,” he said.

DA federal chairman and Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Athol Trollip said the defining moment of the federal council meeting had been the past DA leadership throwing their weight behind the election campaign.

“The Democratic Alliance is working to bring dignity and change to the people of South Africa. Voters are hungry for alternative offers. People want change, prosperity, and honest government. The Democratic Alliance’s election campaign has brought momentum, we are confident people will vote for change,” he said.

African News Agency

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