Cape Town - THE DA's federal legal commission (FLC) will most likely institute a probe after a staffer allegedly failed to ensure the party’s name gets printed on the ballot paper of a hotly-contested by-election in Cape Town.
The staff member, who was meant to submit candidate nominations for the looming by-election in Cape Town’s ward 56, was apparently on leave.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) deadline to receive candidate nominations for this ward, which includes areas such as Kensington, Factreton and Maitland, was earlier this month.
"The provincial leadership is blaming the federal leadership. Apparently, the staff member that usually does this was on leave. Not handing over something this important is concerning. The matter (will be) referred to the FLC for investigation,“ insiders told Weekend Argus, adding that party leader John Steenhuisen is furious.
Chairperson of the FLC, Glynnis Breytenbach, said the matter is currently on the table of the party’s tagging committee.
“The matter is not yet with the FLC. I expect it will be. It has been referred to the tagging committee for consideration,” said Breytenbach.
“Due to Xmas holidays, there has been a delay in referral. It can only be referred for an investigation and advice on how to improve the process to avoid a repeat. The FLC has no disciplinary jurisdiction over staff members, only public representatives,” Breytenbach said.
In November, the party announced that Helen Jacobs ended her term as ward 56 councillor. She announced her resignation, citing personal reasons -- the move which constituted the need for a by-election.
Weekend Argus understand that the IEC contacted various voting district venues to inform them that the by-election will take place on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
A member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature (MPL), Christopher Fry, said: “All the by-elections in February have nomination closure dates in January, but this one was the only one to close in December, and our processes could not be completed in time ... we will communicate more detail to everyone in the ward early in January.”
Fry added that he was not sure of the recourse and was waiting on the party to apply its mind.
Metro regional chair Dan Plato said: “Historically, candidate nominations had to be submitted to the IEC approximately 23 days before election day. In this case, it was 51 days - this is not the norm and created much confusion.
“This deviation to the standard timeline for the submission of candidates to the IEC resulted in the party failing to submit a candidate. The DA is currently exploring all possible options to resolve the matter.”
Another insider said one could not help to think that the DA deliberately missed the deadline.
“In 2016, the DA had won 83.71% of the vote in ward 56 of Cape Town, including PR ballots. In 2021, this figure was reduced to just under 48% of the ward votes. The DA is an extremely committed party who would never make such a silly, thoughtless mistake in the City they control with a clear majority,” said the informant.
"The DA's excuse of failing to comprehend a simple IEC timetable is hogwash. (It) stood a good chance to lose the ward and would not be able to bear the embarrassment that comes with such a loss.“
An ex-high school principal from Al Jama-ah and a 23-year-old from the EFF are among the pool of politicians vying for the job, while GOOD and the Patriotic Alliance also fielded names from within their own ranks.
The IEC Did not respond to questions by the time of going to print.
Weekend Argus.