Senkubuge was a citizen at time of Tshwane appointment, according to voters’ roll – IEC

“The Electoral Commission confirms that Ms Senkubuge was verified as a citizen and thus placed on the voter’s roll. It is on this basis that she was able to contest as a candidate in the 2016 general elections of municipal councils,” the electoral body said in a statement on Sunday.

This comes after after a private citizen laid charges against Senkubuge questioning whether she was eligible to hold a council seat, the DA’s John Moodey confirmed on Saturday.

The citizen claimed that Senkubuge initially held permanent residency at the time of her appointment, before she became a naturalised citizen.

In response, her party the DA said the IEC must explain their processes and the law must take its course in Senkubuge’s case, News24 reported.

The IEC clarified that the department of home affairs is the custodian of the country’s citizenship while the electoral body is responsible for compiling and maintaining the voters’ roll.

“In compiling and maintaining the voters’ roll, the Electoral Commission verifies the details of applicants against the National Population Register (NPR). Only holders of identity numbers that are accorded citizenship status on the NPR are entered into the voters roll.

“This verification process is supplemented by monthly updates from the NPR in order to account for persons who are deceased, those who have recently attained citizenship and those who have either renounced or lost it,” the IEC explained.

The embattled Democratic Alliance (DA) politician recently made headlines following audio that was leaked of an alleged ‘sex scandal’ involving her and Tshwane Mayor, Stevens Mokgalapa.

She has since resigned from her appointment citing that that despite her work successes, there were efforts to personally vilify her and drag her name through the mud.

“In light of recent events, and despite the many successes, it has become clear that attempts to vilify me are taking focus away from the purpose of my role in office. This will in turn inevitably affect service delivery to our residents,” the resignation letter reads.

Mokgalapa has been placed on special leave following the leaked recording scandal.

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