16 arrested for ‘double voting’ in Dannhauser

16 suspects were arrested in Dannhauser, for ‘double voting’ during yesterday’s general election (May 8).

Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials allegedly discovered the suspects had cast their votes at two different voting stations.

KwaZulu-Natal IEC spokesperson, Thabani Ngwira is adamant all of the votes contained in the ballot boxes at both voting stations the 16 suspects voted in, will still be counted toward the election results.

“There is no way to confirm which political party they voted for. Once the ballot papers go into the ballot box, there is absolutely no way to go back and trace who cast which vote. Anyway, we are talking about 16 people here, compared to the 10 million people who voted nationally. These 16 votes will not have any significant effect on the election results, so there is no reason to discard the vote of everyone else at that voting station,” said Ngwira.

DA KZN leader, Zwakhele Mncwango expressed indignation at the IEC’s decision, declaring the 2019 elections the worst ever in the past 25 years of democracy.

“Let me tell you about the value of one vote,” said Mncwango in response. “One vote is so important; a party can lose a seat in parliament because of one vote. A party can lose a debate in government as a result of just one vote. A party can lose the opportunity to govern by just one vote. If the voter turnout is 70 per cent in KZN, we need 48 000 votes to occupy one seat. If the party you voted for has 48 000 minus 16 votes, your party will not get that seat. The IEC has let our democracy down.”

It is believed the 16 people arrested in Dannhauser, had filled in a form allowing them to vote at a voting station they were not registered at, but also cast their votes at the voting station where they were actually registered.

“The officials became suspicious that such a large group had travelled to a neighbouring voting station, instead of just voting at the station where they were registered. When officials at the second voting station made inquiries, they discovered the names had already been struck off the voters roll. The suspects had removed the ink from their thumb, in order to have the opportunity to vote a second time,” confided a reliable source.

Ngwira confirmed four of the 16 voters were arrested last night, with the other 12 taken into custody this morning. He had no knowledge however, as to how the arrests had taken place. Ngwira stated IEC officials were not suspected of any wrongdoing at this stage.

“What I do know, is that these people [who were arrested] went out of their way to remove the ink. The fact that they were caught is a result of the effective measures put in place by the IEC, to identify incidents of election fraud. Those who were arrested will be charged and will appear in court, where they may be given a fine or a prison sentence not exceeding 10 years, if they are found guilty,” he explained.

Mncwango stated: “Justice must play its part. For the election to be free and fair, we need a situation where no one gets an unfair advantage. If this happened in Dannhauser, who knows how many more people voted twice at other voting stations across the county. We are seriously concerned with the IEC. It is disappointing that 25 years into democracy, the IEC still does not have a central online system to see if someone has voted or not, once you scan in their ID. The ink is a problem. When we used the old IDs, the IEC used to stamp the ID, which meant we had another way of ensuring someone does not vote twice: the ink mark on the thumb and the stamping of the ID. With the ID cards, we have taken away one verification process, and now the IEC is using weak ink as well.”

Following the elections, voters around the country took to social media to describe how easy the ink mark was to remove. Some claimed to have used hand sanitiser, while others said the mark washed out easily with regular soap and water.

Mncwango said the DA is likely to lodge an objection against the 2019 general elections, if the party does not receive satisfactory answers to the 2 500 complaints lodged by its members lodged voting stations around the country.

A media statement issued by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) this evening, reported that besides the 16 in Dannhauser, two people were arrested in Hluhluwe, one in Port Shepstone and one in Douglasdale, Gauteng after, “…Allegedly trying to vote for a second time during the 2019 national and provincial elections.”

“These arrests are indicative that the security features employed by the [IEC] to prevent ‘double voting’ from taking place has, in fact been effective. The four layers of security are effectively implemented to protect the integrity of the election process. Furthermore, people bragging on social media about having cast ‘double votes’ must realise this is a transgression of the Electoral Act, if not fraud or both,” said spokesman for NATJOINTS, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo.

“We have also taken note of the various video clips and messages posted on social media, most of which have been dealt with decisively. In one case, IEC officials were immediately relieved of their duties after they were found ‘operating’ from the back of a bakkie. The matter of the election boxes found on the side of a road, was clarified when people assumed they were voting material, and in other cases people are being charged criminally.”