ID - IEC ‘A TOOTHLESS TIGER' IN ACTING AGAINST PARTIES THAT CONTRAVENE THE ELECTORAL ACT

ID General-Secretary Haniff Hoosen says the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) ‘is a toothless tiger when it comes to acting against political parties that contravene the Electoral Act.'

Referring to the Sunday Times front page article today, Mr Hoosen says ‘it is clear that the IEC is allowing parties to break the law because of an unwillingness to take action.

‘In the interests of free and fair elections, the IEC is obliged to launch an investigation into the ANC's conduct and if the allegations are confirmed, then the ANC must be disqualified from participating in the areas where it is enticing voters with food parcels,' says Hoosen.

‘However, we in the Independent Democrats have lodged complaints with the IEC over and over again and the IEC has done nothing about them.'

The ID has lodged 3 complaints with the IEC - involving the ANC providing taxpayer and charity-sponsored food parcels to entice voters to attend ANC rallies and vote ANC; ANC/Cope violence at a Motsweding FM debate in Kuruman; and the ANC allegedly switching a Northern Cape town's lights off 30 minutes before ID President Patricia de Lille was due to address a rally.

‘The 2 pathetic responses we have received thus far show that the IEC prefers to hold fancy media events where political parties sign the Code of Conduct, rather than investigate allegations of misconduct and act against guilty parties,' says Hoosen.

‘The IEC wrote to us saying there was no provision in the Electoral Act that makes handing out food parcels in this way illegal, in spite of the fact that we had quoted the section of the Act that outlaws it.

‘The IEC's response to our complaint about ANC/Cope violence in Kuruman was met with an equally pathetic response and we were told to lay charges with the police,' Hoosen says.

‘As long as the IEC does not respond to these complaints in terms of its legal obligations, political parties will have a field day breaking the law.

‘It is a disgrace that the Government is manipulating their delivery timetables to coincide with the ANC's election campaign, but it is a far bigger disgrace that the IEC is behaving like a toothless tiger and allowing the ANC to get away with it,' says Hoosen.

Statement issued by the Independent Democrats, April 12 2009

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