Cape Town – The GOOD party is calling for the postponement of the George by-election after it found out that 188 names on the voters roll used the same address in Ward 16.
GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron on Monday said: “New information has come to light pointing to serious corruption in the registration of voters in Democratic Alliance (DA)-led George ahead of by-elections scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
Herron said GOOD submitted “substantive evidence” to the IEC on Saturday to bolster allegations that DA canvassers had falsely registered voters from Thembalethu as residents of Ward 20, in Borcherds, where a by-election is due to be held.
“On Monday GOOD received new evidence of 188 voters all registered on the voters roll at the same address in Ward 16, where a second by-election is scheduled,” said Herron.
“It is unthinkable that 188 adults could live in the small house, in what a simple scan of Google Maps reveals to be a small single storey dwelling and unfathomable that the IEC failed to detect the aberration.
“In fact, the property is home to just two people.”
Herron said the anomaly was more than enough evidence to warrant postponing the by-elections until after the voters roll has been thoroughly investigated and those responsible for the fraud brought to book.
“After the IEC said on Monday that it couldnt do anything about the evidence of registration fraud in Ward 20 because it was reported too late, the GOOD Party approached the Electoral Court on an urgent basis to remedy the situation,” Herron said.
“The list of 188 alleged residents of the one house that came to light today will also be put to the court as further evidence of voters roll fraud requiring investigation and explanation.”
Herron said the IECs position that it cant act because objections to the voters roll should have been lodged by 22 June 2023 in compliance with the by-election timetable was “illogical”.
Herron asked: “How could GOOD have objected to the voters’ roll by 22 June if the evidence of voter registration fraud was only disclosed to the party on 14 July 2023?”
Herron added: “The electoral commission is effectively saying that as far as its concerned voter registration fraud is permissible provided it is kept secret until the objections deadline has been reached.
“How does that gel with the commissions primary responsibility to facilitate free and fair elections? “If the by-elections are not postponed, it will enable unqualified voters to elect a ward Councillor for a ward they do not, and have never, lived in.
“The registration of voters who do not live in the ward is the equivalent of ‘bussing voters in'”.
Herron said the conduct of registering voters who are not entitled to vote is a breach of the Municipal Electoral Act and is prohibited conduct.
He said the full scale of the fraud is unknown.
Developing story…
DA comment will be included asap.
