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Durban - A fight between ANC and IFP supporters marred by-elections in Mtubatuba, Zululand, on Wednesday after accusations of rigging, including the busing of voters to polling stations.
The IFP leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Blessed Gwala, said the fight broke out after IFP party agents found a group of people, who had arrived in a bus, trying to vote at a polling station. “I was called to the station to attend to the situation. These people did not even know the area,” he said.
Gwala said as the people walked back to the bus after they had been prevented from entering the station, ANC supporters took the pictures of IFP supporters in the station, which had provoked the incident.
“There was an exchange of punches, but police quickly intervened,” he said.
He said the party also opened a case with the police after party agents found that a voters roll had the names of 38 people who did not belong in that area.
“One person had earlier in the week come to register using the number of a homestead. Another person later came to register and used the same number. When our party agents questioned if he knew the first person, they discovered that the two people did not know each other, which was when they became suspicious.
Gwala said they later conducted a door-to-door investigation andfound that 38 people had fraudulently registered to vote.
Police spokesman Thulani Zwane confirmed that police had defused the fight in Mtubatuba. He said no one was injured or arrested. “A case was opened. But I cannot elaborate on it because it is not for us to do that,” he said.
The ANC’s provincial secretary, Sihle Zikalala, said Gwala was making allegations out of bitterness as he realised the IFP was “losing the municipality”.
“The IFP has realised that they are losing. Both of them, IFP and NFP, together would not beat us. Even in the legislature they are shrinking and can only fit in a Tazz,” he said.
Mawethu Mosery, the provincial head of the
Independent Electoral Commission, said allegations of attempted vote-rigging had not been reported to him. However, he confirmed that there was quarrel at Mtubatuba town hall.
“But we arrived to solve the problem and police also intervened. There was no fight as such,” he said.
Nineteen by-elections were held in the Mtubatuba Local Municipality on Wednesday. Two other by-elections took place in Ixopo and Creighton.
The EFF and NFP also contested the by-elections.
Mosery said that all the results would be released at 10am on Thursday.
The Mercury