IEC calls on politicians to appease Vuwani community in Limpopo
17:49 / 7 MAR 2016
POLOKWANE, March 7 (ANA) – Hundreds of voters could be left off the voter roll for the upcoming local government election if politicians and traditional leader do not engage and resolve disputes, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in Limpopo has warned.
The election body said forty five voting stations in the province, which had over 36,000 voters on the roll, had not registered new voters in Vuwani.
IEC provincial head Nkaro Mateta said community protests in Vuwani had made it impossible to operate in the area as residents opposed to the municipality had blockaded access roads to the township located in the in Makhado municipal area.
Mateta said that election officials had not been able to carry out their work in parts of Vuwani, Mogalakwena and Letaba due to disputes over service delivery.
“It was impossible to do work in Vuwani, Mogalakwena and Letaba,” Mateta said. “In Mogalakwena there was a protest and water tankers on the road.”
Mateta said some traditional leaders had also lobbied people not to participate in the voter registration drive, citing dissatisfaction with municipal bounadries.
Residents of Vuwani had launched a campaign against inclusion of their area into a planned municipality earmarked to be stationed at Malamulele.
Mateta said they would take the matter to the House of Traditional Leaders to persuade it to educate its members on the importance of voting.
Vuwani has become a political hot potato and a no-go area for African National Congress (ANA) politicians since the pronouncement that Vuwani would be part of a new municipality in Vhembe.
Protesters have said they don’t want any ANC leaders except President Jacob Zuma to explain the decision by government to include them in new municipality.
At the weekend they blockaded roads, fought running battles with police and disrupted efforts by IEC officials to register voters.
A planned meeting between ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa and a Vuwani Task Team was cancelled at the weekend.
Mateta said the Vuwani issue was political and needed political intervention.
“We just hope that politicians will lead us, the matter is highly political and we hope they will make people understand IEC mandate,” said Mateta
The ruling party plan’s to de-establish the Mutale municipality and establish a new council has angered Vuwani residents who said they were not consulted or endorse the plan.
– African News Agency (ANA)