The MK Party has objected to the Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) election results in eThekwini, citing systemic failures and discrepancies. In a formal objection, the party accused the IEC of presiding over serious failures at its eThekwini results operations centre (ROC). The objection, signed by MK Party acting secretary-general Lindiwe Makubu, raises concerns about arithmetic and physical mismatches between electronic leaderboards and certified physical results slips.
The MK Party alleges that figures entered electronically at the ROC deviate systematically from figures recorded on Form NP041 results slips. These slips were completed and counter-signed by party agents at individual voting stations. The party wants the IEC to freeze all disputed system entries and results processing in affected voting districts and wards until an open audit is conducted. This objection comes as the IEC continues verifying and capturing results after the November 4 local government elections.
IEC spokesperson Kate Bopela stated that the matter is in the hands of the commissioners and that commissioners directly respond to political parties. The MK Party further alleges that failures occurred during physical verification, reconciliation, and sorting of ballots between November 2 and 4. The party also disputes public statements by the IEC accusing it of failing to deploy agents at various voting stations.
The MK Party claims that alleged failures have undermined its constitutional right to effective oversight of the electoral process. The party demands a transparent forensic technical explanation of the network glitch experienced at the eThekwini ROC. They also request access for an independent forensic systems analyst to examine the commission's data processing backend and physical ballot reconciliations.
The MK Party has called on the commission to publicly withdraw what it describes as defamatory remarks accusing it of failing to deploy election agents. The party argues that these statements prejudiced its public standing while the electoral dispute remains active. The party's most consequential demand is that the IEC postpone the final announcement and gazetting of municipal election results until all alleged discrepancies are resolved.
The objection was lodged in terms of section 65 of the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act. The MK Party also submitted an application for condonation should its objection be processed concurrently with or after the statutory 5 pm deadline on Friday. The party warns that refusing to consider its objection before the official declaration would cause irreparable constitutional injury to the electorate.
However, the four-page objection does not identify specific voting districts or wards affected, quantify alleged discrepancies, or attach results slips and technical evidence needed to independently establish claims. The allegations have not been independently verified.
Key points
- The MK Party demands that the IEC freeze election results in eThekwini due to alleged systemic failures and discrepancies.
- The party requests a transparent forensic technical explanation of the network glitch and access for an independent forensic systems analyst.
- The MK Party wants the IEC to postpone the final announcement of municipal election results until all alleged discrepancies are resolved.
