Waterberg IEC says elections were free and fair

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has declared free and fair elections activity, against the backdrop of political parties continuing to accuse each other of alleged mischievous behaviour.

Waterberg co-ordinator for the IEC, Dikeme Pilane, said on Monday 13 May his office had not received any complaints about, among others, incidents of the contravention of the Electoral Act.

But then the aftermath of the elections continue to paint a completely different picture, with the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) facing off in court.

Central to the contestation is the ripping off of a life-size banner with the smiling picture of President Cyril Ramaphosa in the township in Bela-Bela.

Pilane said he had noted there were a couple of incidents being investigated by the police, but that none of these had formally been reported to the Waterberg IEC.

The bitter pre-election contestation led to a number of incidents involving the courts and the police, such as the expected appearance of Bela-Bela EFF co-ordinator, Sello Moswoeu, in court in
coming days.

In Modimolle the NPA was investigating a case from which a suspect was allegedly found with a pile of EFF posters.

Long before the election results were announced, the DA on its part dangled a R50 000 reward for anyone with information which could lead to the arrest and prosecution of suspects who damaged the party’s posters.

In downtown Bela-Bela posters put up by both the ANC and the EFF — with the faces of President Cyril Ramaphosa and EFF leader Julius Malema — were spray-painted with a message too vulgar to reproduce in a family newspaper.

— The BEAT