CAPE TOWN - The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has confirmed that it will be conducting further recounts in nine voting districts following allegations that there may have been irregularities in the allocation of votes.
The IEC had previously conducted recounts last November at 14 voting stations which reportedly revealed that votes were misallocated following the local government elections.
This follows claims made by the Cape Independence Party (CapeExit) that IEC officials had misallocated votes cast for the party. The party said they approached the Electoral Court to investigate the matter.
CapeExit Chief Whip Adrian Kay said: “The very limited recount of November 11 revealed a further gain of 552 votes for the Cape Independence Party, putting us approximately 250 votes short of an additional seat.”
“The IEC has been deliberately obstructive in our attempts to resolve this matter. We can only assume they are trying to hide from the obvious failures of its staff on election day, or maybe worse.“
He said the recount also revealed numerous discrepancies with vote tallies changing for many political parties.
Recounts are expected to be conducted at Kommetjie Primary School, Bothasig community hall, Strand town hall, Yinlan Park tent, Panorama NG Kerk Saal, Paarl School in Brackenfell, Dr G Joubert, Kruis & Suikerbossie tent as well as the Blue Downs Swimming Pool voting districts.
IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela confirmed the recounts.
“The Electoral Commission has considered the section 65 objection and in compliance with the Electoral Court Order, has taken all necessary steps to investigate the objection.
“Pursuant to the investigation so conducted, the Commission has considered the objection and has resolved to uphold the objection in respect of the nine voting stations. Such decision by the Commission is based on the results revealed from the investigations conducted, namely that there is a basis indicating that there may have been irregularities in respect to the allocation of votes at the nine voting stations,“ said Bapela.
Various political parties welcomed the recounts.
United Independent Movement (UIM) leader Neil de Beer said they managed to enhance their votes in the previous recount in November.
“We as the UIM welcome the IEC recount order. In the last recount we enhanced our votes in a few voting districts recounts by an extra few hundred votes, and that showed clearly of huge miss counting during election day.” he said.
ANC Head of Communications, Sifiso Mtsweni said they will monitor the situation closely.
“We are obviously concerned that there are instances of improper conduct on the part of IEC officials in some areas of the province. We will monitor the situation closely,” he said.
DA Western Cape chairperson Jaco Londt said they support any and all actions that will ensure there is an “accurate reflection of the election results”.
“There was already a previous recount in the Western Cape after the 2021 election that allowed the DA to gain an extra seat.
“The past election showed there are several areas where the performance of the IEC can be improved and we hope that this gets addressed for a smoother election experience,“ said Londt.
GOOD party secretary general Brett Herron said they have successfully contested results in the past.
“It’s highly unusual this long after the election and the recounts seldom result in any material difference in the outcomes but welcome it as part of a functional democracy.”
EFF Provincial Chairperson Melikhaya Xego said they will participate in the process to ensure there's no further discrepancies going forward.
“The IEC's reputation is at stake here as any found discrepancy will dent its image and trust for its expected neutrality in elections,” he said.
CapExit said further legal challenges are expected at the conclusion of this recount.
Cape Times