Johannesburg- Leaders of the political party, Action SA are disgruntled, as the party feels the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is not as independent as it should be.
According to a statement issued by the party’s national chairman, Michael Beaumont, the IEC has omitted Action SA from the ballot paper and the party is heading to court to iron the matter out.
“Action SA confirms that the 10am deadline for the IEC to remedy the absence of Action SA’s name from the ballot papers came and went without a response from the Commission,” says the statement.
Reports state the party’s name was removed by the IEC from the ballot because its name is too long, it should be an abbreviation.
Instead of the name, the IEC used a logo.
The statement further states that the party has concluded a meeting with its legal team, who are bewildered by the Commission’s refusal to remedy the issue.
“They have affirmed our position that there is no legal basis for the Commission to refuse this request and are confident the courts will share this perspective. Action SA is concerned by the approach of the IEC and what seems like an effort to validate a decision to not assist in remedying this matter which directly relates to voters being able to locate their political party of choice,” added the statement.
Action SA’s leader Herman Mashaba has posted a tweet, revealing that the IEC has extended its deadline because the African National Congress has failed to meet the deadline.
During an interview on TV, he also said that the IEC claimed that this is a glitch, but actually they know it’s more than that.
“We are a registered political party, we refuse to be reduced to just a logo,” he said.
The ANC missed the deadline for candidate submission – the entire deadline was shifted by the IEC.
'ActionSA' – The name of our party is excluded by the IEC from draft ballot papers – the IEC refuses to amend them.
Free and fair?
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) October 4, 2021
The IEC has remained silent on the issue, 27 days before the local government elections begin.
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