GOOD’s court bid to postpone George by-elections thrown out

The Electoral Court has dismissed GOOD Party’s application to have Wednesday’s by-elections in George, Western Cape postponed over alleged voter registration fraud.

The court bid was thrown out without any cost order.

GOOD accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of falsely registering 188 voters using the same home address in the highly contested Ward 20.

The party laid a complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) before approaching the Electoral Court to seek a postponement.

DA governs George through a coalition with the Freedom Front Plus. It vehemently denied the fraud allegations this week.

The by-election is for Wards 16, 20 and 27 seats which became vacant after three of the four GOOD councillors dumped the party for the DA three months ago.

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However, one of the councillors, Richard Hector, made a U-turn and rejoined GOOD.

He returns as the party’s candidate for Ward 27.

‘Intimidation’

Reacting to Wednesday’s court ruling, DA Western Cape leader Tertuis Simmers said GOOD is “fighting to survive”.

“GOOD has completely lost its focus and its intention is no longer to serve residents. It is fighting only to survive.

“It has over the past few days shown South Africans that it is willing to go to any length, including undermining the Constitution and voters’ constitutional right to vote,” he said.

Simmers further levelled allegations of intimidation against GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron and regional coordinator Donovan Saptoe.

A voter opened a case with the police, accusing Herron and Saptoe of “aggressive attempts” to coerce them into signing a false affidavit, said Simmers.

“The DA is appalled by Herron and Saptoe’s illicit conduct. GOOD is all but completely non-existent, and its conduct is a desperate and futile gambit to maintain relevance.

“Today, the DA will lay charges against GOOD in terms of the Electoral Act, the Municipal Electoral Act as well as the Electoral Code of Conduct,” said Simmers.

‘Court got it wrong’

Contacted for comment, Herron said although the party respected the independence of the judiciary, the court “got it wrong.”

“The court was presented with prima facie evidence of voter registration fraud conducted by the DA. This includes affidavits by the perpetrators, confessions that they had falsely registered voters in by-election wards, ID numbers, names and real home addresses of fraudulently registered voters.

“The full extent of the fraud has not fully been explored,” Herron said in a statement.

He said the party was taking legal advice following the court outcome.

GOOD will compel the IEC to correct the George voters’ roll, and will return to the Electoral Court should the IEC decline, he added.

Herron further dismissed Simmers’ allegations of voter intimidation, accusing the DA of intimidating a voter.

“The full extent of the voter registration fraud in George has not fully been explored. We will continue to support anyone willing to expose electoral misconduct.

“The importance of an accurate voter’s roll is critical to free and fair elections,” he said.

*This story was updated to include GOOD’s comment.

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