By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Electoral Court has agreed to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) request to hear the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party matter challenging the election results despite the party withdrawing its application.
The matter has been set down for a virtual hearing on Monday 29 July 2024 at 9am, according to the court’s notice.
This move comes in response to the MKP’s “serious allegations” on the credibility of the May 29 elections.
They party claim IEC failed to oversee a free and fair election, claiming that votes were rigged in the national and provincial elections.
It has been calling for South Africans to take to the ballot again, claiming that 9 million votes were missing since the elections.
On Friday the IEC wrote to court saying the notice of withdrawal was irregular and asked the court to set down the matter for hearing and argument so that the MKP’s allegations of vote rigging can be publicly ventilated and tested.
Attorney for the IEC Moeti Kanyane said “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”.
Furthermore, according to the IEC, MKP’s notice of withdrawal did not contain a bid for fees, in contrast to what Rule 41 anticipates. Punitive costs are necessary, it argues, to completely prevent MKP 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 MK Party Barnabas Xulu said in the letter.
In a statement released to the media, the MKP said it was resolute and would be filing papers as per the answering affidavit; which it said brought further evidence that strengthens their case against the IEC.
The IEC has continually quashed allegations by the MK party and a number of others, of vote-rigging during votes and on election day.
Meanwhile the African Transformation Movement (ATM) has confirmed that it has complied with the recent directives issued by the Electoral Court in its court case against the IEC.
This comes after the court last week issued directives to the ATM as the applicant and other political parties represented in the National Assembly to comply and submit their affidavits on time before the matter is heard in court.
On Monday, ATM leader Vuyo Zungula confirmed that he had made his submission to the Electoral Court.
More than 19 political parties – including the ANC, DA, EFF, IFP, FF Plus, UDM, African Independent Congress, COPE, GOOD Party, ACDP, PAC, Al Jama-ah, MK Party, ActionSA, Rise Mzansi, BOSA, United Africans for Transformation and the 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.