Despite the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) having recently temporarily withdrawn its application to have the recent election results set aside and declared null and void through the courts, the Electoral Court has agreed to the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC) request to hear the matter.
The matter has been set down for a virtual hearing, following the recent directives of the Electoral Court.
“Be pleased to take notice that pursuant to the provisions of the rules of this court, the above-mentioned application has been set down for a virtual hearing on Monday, 29 July 2024, at 9am. If the application is not to be proceeded with, kindly notify this office,” writes registrar of the Electoral Court Delisile Nhlapho in her letter dated, Monday, July 15.
The move is in light of the serious accusations the MKP and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) have levelled against the IEC over the free and fairness of the May 29 elections.
Both parties have called for the rerun of the elections due to alleged incidents of rigging and fraud regarding an alleged nine million votes said to be missing.
Last week, the IEC wrote to the Electoral Court, saying the notice of withdrawal by the MKP was irregular and pleaded with the court to set down the matter for hearing and argument so that the MKP’s allegations of vote-rigging could be made public and tested.
“It is an absolute imperative that the matter is ventilated publicly and a final decision be made by the Electoral Court, at the very least to confirm whether the allegations against the electoral commission were made vexatiously and without just cause,“ said advocate Moeti Kanyane on behalf of the IEC.
The IEC said the MKP’s notice of withdrawal did not contain a bid for fees, in contrast to what Rule 41 anticipated as punitive costs that were necessary to prevent parties from abusing the legal system.
“The withdrawal is no indication that we do not have a compelling case for the orders we seek,” attorney for the MKP Barnabas Xulu said in the letter.
However, in a statement, the MKP remained defiant over its claims. Party leader Jacob Zuma recently said his party had ample evidence to argue its case.
The ATM, in its application through party leader Vuyo Zungula, confirmed that it had made its submission to the Electoral Court where more than 19 political parties, among them the ANC, DA, EFF, IFP, Freedom Front Plus, United Democratic Movement, African Independent Congress, Cope, Good Party, ACDP, PAC, ActionSA, Rise Mzansi, Build One SA and Patriotic Alliance, are cited as respondents by the Electoral Court in its directive.
“As the African Transformation Movement (ATM), we have heeded the call of the Electoral Court and have submitted affidavits detailing various irregularities, discrepancies, and international malicious actions that occurred during the 2024 National Provincial Elections (NPE).
“Our affidavits touch on a range of issues, including the accuracy and inconsistency of the voters roll, discrepancies affecting ballot boxes, issues related to vote counting, challenges related to Section 24A, malfunctioning of Voter Management Devices (VMDS), and misconduct of the Electoral Commission (IEC) officials,” said Zungula.
Last week, in a scathing answering affidavit, DA federal chairperson Helen Zille slammed the ATM for its “baseless” vote-rigging court application to the Electoral Court.
The Star