Pretoria - The Mpumalanga SAPS have been asked by political parties to investigate allegations of vote-rigging after a shocking discovery of a batch of ballot papers stuffed in a refuse plastic bag and unsealed ballot boxes in Bushbuckridge.
The IEC stationery, which included ballot papers and unsealed ballot boxes were on Tuesday morning found inside a Quantum Toyota taxi, which was allegedly not escorted by the SAPS officers.
The EFF, Better Residents Association (BRA), African People's Convention (APC) have since pressed charges against the implicated IEC staff for allegedly tampering with ballot boxes.
Parties have expressed outrage at the incident and called into question the credibility of the 2021 municipal polls conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC).
Provincial SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said a case opened by the parties at Thulamahashe police station was for "contravention of Section 70 (2)(a)of Act 27/2000 infringement of secrecy".
Ward 31 in Bushbuckridge. We was robbed🥲 #Elections2021 #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/6fAuicbeVj
— Nkuzi ya Mchangani (@HlulaniMgiba) November 3, 2021
Parties alleged that presiding officers at an IEC office in ward 16 came to deliver the ballot boxes from different voting stations using a taxi whose driver was wearing an ANC T-shirt, which "caught the attention of other parties."
Mohlala said: "They (political parties representatives) approached the taxi and found that they (IEC officials) had loaded ballot boxes for five voting stations. They discovered that seals of eight ballot boxes have been tampered with".
He said a municipal election official "confirmed that the boxes were tampered with upon arrival and that it is not allowed to use one common transport for different stations and the driver is not allowed to wear any political identity clothing". The police's investigation into the matter was under way.
Regarding claims that the taxi in question was not escorted by the police, Mohlala said: "We do escort but we do not interfere with the work of the IEC".
Pictures and videos of the incident, circulating on social media, showed that the taxi was parked with its passenger door wide open and unsealed ballot boxes could be seen inside.
The independency of the IEC is questionable. A quantum was found with ballot papers at Thulamahashe, Bushbuckridge pic.twitter.com/0CkCDJng68
— Ntandow30 (@ntandow30) November 3, 2021
Other ballot boxes were outside with ballot papers, which looked like they were removed from a refuse plastic bag.
Parties' leaders yesterday called for a ward by-election and accused transporters of ballot boxes of tampering with ballot papers with a view to sway votes in favour of the ANC.
According to them, the matter was also reported to the IEC. However, when asked about the incident during a media briefing on Tuesday night, chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said: "The Bushbuckridge matter we are not aware of, but it is a matter that we will go and look at and get reports so that those can be considered by the commission."
BRA secretary, Linky Matsie, said: "The boxes were not sealed and they had ballot papers inside the refuse bag. We were surprised as to how that happened because after counting the ballot papers at a voting station they are supposed to seal the ballot boxes."
The party's president Delta Mokoena said his party was "calling for a by-election and not the recount", claiming that those inside the taxi wanted to tamper with the ballot papers to increase votes for the ANC.
APC national spokesperson, Freddy Mbandze, said: "We can't allow that to happen because it would mean the election was not fair with ballot papers allowed to be transported not in marked ballot boxes but in a refuse bag. We are calling for a rerun."
EFF regional leader in Bohlabela region, Surprise Kubhayi said: "There was rigging of votes there. We have given the police all the information we have on our side and the information we have given to them is more than enough to arrest those behind the shenanigans that were happening."
He said that there was "a serious problem in Bushbuckridge saying that the "IEC staff is conniving with thuggery of the ANC to steal votes".
ANC Mpumalanga acting secretary Lindiwe Ntshalintshali said: "As the ANC we have not sanctioned anybody to do dirty work on our behalf."
She challenged the ANC accusers to seek for a recourse by exploiting legal avenues in place.
"If they feel like there is foul play in this matter, let them challenge it through the structure in which all parties are represented - the party liaison committee. They can elevate it to the national liaison committee and if they are still not satisfied there is an electoral court where decisions can be made," Ntshalintshali said.
She said she didn't "have enough proof but we have requested our members in a party liaison committee, those that sit with the IEC to find out what really happened".
She was hoping that a meeting scheduled by the party on Wednesday would share a detailed report regarding what really transpired.
In one of the videos, she said, a lady could be heard "talking in Shangaan saying you want to tamper this so that the ANC can win".
Regarding a call for hosting the by-election, she said: "Remember in terms of the legislation it is the MEC of Cogta who has the powers to call for a by-election." She, however, said the ANC would respect any verdict should the matter end up at the Electoral Court.
Pretoria News