Electoral Court rules ATM’s ‘vote-rigging’ claims in 2024 elections are ‘mere assertions’

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has failed in its attempt to have the 2024 general election results set aside — but was spared a costs order by the Electoral Court.

The ATM had asked the Electoral Court to declare the May 29 polls “not free and fair”, following an election in which it secured just two seats in the National Assembly.

The party alleged the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) failed to conduct a democratic electoral process and sought to have both the national and provincial election results nullified.

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In its application, the ATM also requested an order compelling President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce a date for a fresh election within 90 days.

The case, based on allegations of inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the voters’ roll and ballot boxes, faced opposition from the IEC and the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Electoral Court rules against ATM

In a recent judgement, acting Electoral Court Judge Leicester Adams sided with the IEC and the DA, concluding that the ATM’s application lacked merit.

While the party claimed to be a victim of “miscalculations, voter rigging, and voter corruption”, Adams found these accusations to be unsupported by evidence.

“The main difficulty with ATM’s case is that, as contended by the Commission and by the DA, the application consists almost exclusively of a series of sweeping, vague and general allegations, none of which are supported by any evidence, let alone credible evidence,” Adams said.

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He further labelled the party’s claims as “mere assertions and expressions based on unfounded suspicions and more often than not based on inadmissible hearsay”.

Adams also pointed to an admission by ATM president Vuyo Zungula in the founding affidavit, where he noted “speculations and allegations” of bias by the IEC towards the ruling party.

“Bizarrely, Mr Zungula attempts to justify the lack of evidence by stating in his founding affidavit that he ‘need not burden the court with voluminous papers’ to evidence his claims. This is patently wrong. ATM’s claims must be proved with evidence,” the judgement reads.

ATM’s allegations dismissed as unsubstantiated

Adams rejected the ATM’s complaints regarding the voters’ roll, noting the party failed to serve any formal objections as required by the Electoral Act.

He also dismissed claims of discrepancies with ballot boxes, agreeing with the IEC’s argument that the allegations were “vague, unspecific, and unsubstantiated”.

“The commission states that there were complaints about ballot boxes not being sealed properly or being tampered [with] during the 2024 elections. However, the commission investigated and responded to all the complaints it received.

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“If any of the objecting parties or other parties involved in the objection felt aggrieved by the commission’s decision, it was open to them to appeal in terms of the Electoral Act,” the judge explained.

“I agree with the commission’s contention that the mere fact that there were complaints does not prove that they were well-founded and that the elections were compromised, as ATM appears to believe.”

Judge Adams concluded that the ATM failed to substantiate its case for the relief it sought.

“Accordingly, the applicant’s application falls to be dismissed. The application is doomed because, at a factual and at a basic evidentiary level, there is no merit in the claim for the relief sought.”