Johannesburg - The African Independent Congress (AIC) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) have given opposing views on whether the local government elections should be held in October.
The political parties made oral submissions on Thursday at the IEC inquiry, chaired by retired deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke.
The inquiry is probing whether the elections can be held safely.
ATM said it was concerned about the state of various local governments in the country. The party said because of how badly run some municipalities were, a delay in elections could deny unhappy citizens the right to change who governs them.
“It is clear from the media that most municipalities are not doing well in their mandate. Voters would like to change the status quo. The elections should continue in October as it was done in other countries,” said ATM’s Aubrey Katsana.
When probed by Moseneke on what should be done about rising Covid-19 infections, ahead of the elections, the party said people were continuing with normal activities and that proved that elections could go ahead.
“While they are queuing they can also vote,” Katsana said.
The AIC argued for the postponement of the elections.
Steven Jafta, the party's secretary-general, said people's lives should be put first and that election should be postponed until next year.
Moseneke expressed shock when a representative from “Us The People”, a relatively unknown political party, claimed the pandemic did not exist and insisted that elections should go ahead.
Kemokoenawamathole Mathole, the convener of Us The People, said the government had yet to provide proof the virus exists.
He claimed it was all a hoax and pushed back even when Moseneke laid out the statistics of how many infections were recorded on Tuesday.
Mathole said: “We are recommending the IEC must continue to be independent. We see this Covid thing as a political tool. The election is the last thing that SA people have as a voice of freedom. Even the proposal to postpone elections is dangerous.
“We the people never saw the virus, we are convinced that Covid is a scam, the government has failed to show us the virus,” said Mathole.
Moseneke's responded: “The statistics show us that 19 000 people were infected on Tuesday, those who tested, and it show us 383 people had died. What should I say that those people were killed by what?”
Mathole went on to repeat his unfounded claims of a hoax.
The inquiry continues on Friday as more political parties, including the EFF, are expected to testify.
Political Bureau