Cape Town - The GOOD Party has filed an 11th-hour application in the Electoral Court in Bloemfontein, accusing the DA of voter-registration fraud in the by-elections set for today in the George municipality and wants the poll postponed.
In the affidavit filed by GOOD MP and secretary-general Brett Herron on behalf of the party, GOOD says it wants the by-election in Wards 16, 20 and 27 rescheduled as per concerns raised in a letter of complaint to the IEC last week.
Herron said that after submitting evidence to the IEC on Saturday that DA canvassers had falsely registered voters from Thembalethu as residents of Ward 20, in Borcherds, they received new evidence of further voter fraud.
“On Monday we received new evidence of 188 voters all registered on the voter’s roll at the same address in ward 16.
“It is unthinkable that 188 adults could live in the small house, in what a simple scan of Google Maps reveals to be a small single-storey dwelling.”
He said it was unfathomable that the IEC failed to detect the aberration and that the property was home to just two people. This was more than enough evidence to warrant postponing the by-elections until after the voter’s roll had been thoroughly investigated and those responsible for the fraud were brought to book.
The IEC said on Monday that it could not do anything about the evidence of registration fraud in Ward 20 because it had been reported too late.
IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said: “The Electoral Commission has received the objection from the GOOD political party and has responded to the party.
“The commission has also received a court application from the GOOD party and will be opposing the matter.”
Responding to the accusations, DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said: “According to the 2021 voters roll, there were more than 188 persons residing at that address. Good, which won the ward in those elections, did not complain at the time about these voters.
“In the months since the government election, Good has never taken issue with these voters, except now— the day before the by-elections.”
He said the DA had not committed fraud, nor had it misled the IEC or the voters of George.
ANC provincial head of elections, Cameron Dugmore said they had heard from the GOOD party about the incidents and if it turned out to be true, the actions would go against the fundamentals of democracy.
Dugmore said: “We understand that good is approaching the IEC to have these by-elections delayed so that these serious allegations can be investigated.”
He said the ANC would be consulting with its national and provincial leadership on the way forward.
The wards became vacant when former GOOD party councillors Theresa Jeyi and Neville Louw resigned and defected to the DA.
In Ward 27 GOOD candidate Richard Hector left the party and then returned, claiming to never have officially resigned. However the Western Cape High court disagreed and ruled that the by-election would have to go ahead.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za