DURBAN - THE Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has approached the Electoral Court for a postponement of the by-election in ward 13 in uMdoni municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.
The by-election was set to take place on Wednesday.
This comes after concerns were raised by the DA about voters being registered to vote in ward 13 that are not living in the ward.
Dean Macpherson, DA chairperson in KZN, said that the party welcomed the undertaking it had received from the IEC that they would approach the Electoral Court today to have the by-election postponed to at least March 3.
“The by-election was going to take place after the former DA councillor won the ward from the ANC by 37 votes in the November 2021 elections and then resigned after he voted in support of the ANC mayoral candidate.
“The application primarily revolved around 235 additional voters that have been added to the voters roll during the registration weekend in January 2022.
“The DA contends that many, if not all of these voters do not live in the ward and have been bussed in from neighbouring wards, including Umzumbe and as far as the Eastern Cape.”
Macpherson said the addresses provided by potential “voters” were so vague that it was impossible to determine whether the addresses were in the ward or simply did not exist at all.
“The DA dutifully raised our objections and the findings of our own investigation to both the local and provincial IEC where we were advised that this would be investigated and feedback provided.
“This postponement is a major victory for the DA as well as all future elections. It is a strong warning to the IEC that they must investigate each and every objection lodged by a political party.
He added that it sent a “strong message” that the party would not allow voters rolls to be manipulated.
Thabani Ngwira, communications manager for the IEC in KZN, said that the IEC had approached the Electoral Court.
“We have approached the Electoral Court for the postponement of the ward 13 by-election in uMdoni municipality scheduled for February 23.
“This is to allow for further investigation. We are still awaiting a decision by the Electoral Court and will make an official announcement following that.”
Ngwira added that the by-election scheduled in ward 1 in uBuhlebezwe municipality in Ixopo on Wednesday will proceed as scheduled.
The ANC wants to retain its ward after its councillor resigned from ward 1.
The IFP, ACDP and EFF are also contesting this ward. In the local government elections last November, the ANC had won the ward by 72.12%.
THE MERCURY