Durban — The DA has refused to accept the election results in KwaZulu-Natal because their 34 objections over supposed vote counting irregularities in the province were not dealt with by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) by Saturday.
Dean Macpherson, chairperson of the DA in KwaZulu-Natal, confirmed he had hand-delivered a letter detailing the party’s objections to the IEC’s provincial presiding officer on Saturday afternoon.
They followed that up with their Section 55 objection ahead of Saturday’s 6pm deadline. Section 55 of the Electoral Act pertains to all aspects of voting and counting.
By 4pm Saturday the IEC in KZN said 30 official objections had been lodged by parties in the province, and only two of those had been dealt with.
“Objections were sent directly to head office so that the process was centralised and it would only be referred back to the province if there was something that needed to be investigated,” said the IEC’s Ntombifuthi Masinga.
Masinga said results could be amended up until Tuesday when the election results were gazetted.
Macpherson said the IEC were “placed on terms” (official demand) as they lodged the objections on Friday.
“We raised 34 objections on Friday and they are still outstanding and not adjudicated by the IEC as of this afternoon (Saturday). We cannot accept the results until those objections are dealt with.”
Macpherson said their Section 55 objection would compel the IEC to deal with the matter.
He said they had an instance where the provincial ballot at a voting station totalled 2000, but at the same voting station, the national ballot tallied 4 000.
“You can’t have that sort of discrepancy … Project that over 34 stations, and those numbers become significant and can change the composition of the provincial legislature where it is finely balanced and would come to single seats. That’s why we are taking it seriously,” he said.
Newcomers the MKP were the dominant force in KZN, securing more than 45% of the votes in the province.
Macpherson said he was satisfied with the DA’s performance in KZN.
“If it was not for the DA’s performance, the MKP would have achieved a majority. So when we said we would rescue KZN, that’s exactly what we did.”
About a coalition government in KZN, Macpherson said they would work with parties that put people first and shared their ideals.
“The reality is that no provincial government is going to be formed that doesn’t have the involvement or support of the DA.”
IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said their top brass would meet Sunday (today) to chart a way forward once the final outcome of the elections had been determined.
“We have an open door policy with anyone who aligns with our ideals.”
Hlabisa said they were not “surprised or threatened” by the MKP.
“Congratulations to them. But, as the IFP, they had no impact on us.
“The figures indicate that the IFP has exceeded 2019 and 2021’s results.”
Sunday Tribune