Presiding Officer Loses IEC Job Over Vehicle Linked To Her Son And ANC Branding

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has terminated the services of a presiding officer in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, after an investigation revealed that a vehicle intended to transport election material belonged to the official and carried African National Congress (ANC) branding.

The incident came to light during the first day of special voting, when party agents noticed the vehicle and alerted an IEC area manager. The manager intervened and stopped the election materials from being loaded into it.

KwaZulu-Natal Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga explained that the presiding officer had initially described the vehicle as an e-hailing taxi arranged to assist with transporting election materials. However, further checks established that it was her own vehicle and that her son was driving it.

The discovery led the commission to end its working relationship with the official. Masinga said allowing election material to be transported in a vehicle displaying the colours and branding of a political party could create the impression that the IEC was not impartial.

“Because the Presiding Officers cannot be seen to be travelling in a vehicle that is clad in party colours, we then had to part ways with that Presiding Officer, because it sends a very wrong message that a Presiding Officer is travelling with election material in a vehicle that is branded with party colours,” she said.

Masinga also confirmed that the car carried ANC branding, although the commission said it did not know how the vehicle came to display the party’s colours.

The incident prompted questions about how election materials are moved after voting stations close. Masinga explained that ballot booths, ballot boxes and signage are classified as non-sensitive items and can remain at voting stations.

However, ballot papers, security stamps, voting ink and voters’ rolls must be returned to IEC satellite warehouses. Police escorts are preferred for transporting sensitive materials, but officials may have to proceed without one when police officers are unavailable, particularly at low- and medium-risk stations.

The IEC also asks prospective presiding officers whether they own a vehicle or can access one for election duties. Masinga acknowledged that the circumstances involving the alleged e-hailing arrangement were unusual.

She said the commission would not engage the ANC over the matter, maintaining that presiding officers themselves are responsible for remaining non-partisan while carrying out electoral duties.

The development comes as special voting concludes ahead of the general local government elections scheduled for Wednesday, November 4. The IEC has approved more than 2.6 million special-vote applications nationwide.

Source: https://x.com/iol/status/2117610704425329148?s=46

SApoliticss feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com