The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has welcomed a judgment by the Electoral Court dismissing an application by the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) that challenged the results of the 2024 provincial and national elections. The MKP had alleged that the leaderboard at the National Results Operations Centre went blank for two hours on 31 May 2024, resulting in votes being manipulated and the party being shortchanged in the final tallies.
The Electoral Court has upheld the commission's version that there was no system crash, and that the display board going blank did not affect the functioning of the system. The MKP had claimed that the commission deliberately interfered with the functioning of the system, resulting in the outage of the public-facing results board. However, the commission denied these claims, stating that there was no system downtime or blackout.
The IEC has stated that it will now finalise the independent and external audit of the results system to be used for the 4 November municipal polls. This move is aimed at ensuring the integrity and reliability of the electoral process. The commission has also invited political parties to bring their independent experts to test the system, ensuring impartiality and transparency.
The judgment has been welcomed by the IEC, which regards the MKP matter as closed and will not be commenting further on the ruling. The commission has assured that it has been consistent with past practices in inviting political parties to bring their independent experts to test the system. This move is expected to enhance the credibility of the electoral process.
The IEC has also announced that political parties will have direct access to the system between 5 and 12 October to identify and raise system issues ahead of election day. This move is aimed at ensuring that any issues with the system are addressed before the elections take place. The commission has expressed confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.
The dismissal of the MKP's bid to challenge the 2024 election results has significant implications for the upcoming municipal polls. The IEC has assured that it is working tirelessly to ensure that the electoral process is transparent and credible. The commission's efforts are aimed at enhancing public trust in the electoral process.
The IEC's decision to finalise the independent and external audit of the results system is a significant step towards ensuring the integrity of the electoral process. The commission's commitment to transparency and impartiality is expected to enhance public confidence in the electoral process.
Key points
- The Electoral Commission of South Africa has welcomed a judgment dismissing the MK Party's bid to challenge the 2024 election results.
- The judgment upheld the commission's version that there was no system crash during the 2024 elections.
- The IEC will now finalise the independent and external audit of the results system to be used for the 4 November municipal polls.
