IEC chief resigns ahead of municipal elections
JOBURG - The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) remains confident that the resignation of Pansy Tlakula as its chair would not impact the 2016 municipal elections.
“The electoral commission is confident that it has the capability, experience and leadership within the IEC to continue to deliver free, fair and credible elections as the people of South Africa and the world have come to expect and deserve,” the commission said in a statement.
“At a recent meeting between the electoral commission and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Pravin Gordhan, milestones and timelines for the 2016 municipal elections were agreed and work is well underway to prepare for these elections.”
Tlakula handed in her resignation as chair of the IEC to President Jacob Zuma after over a year of fighting to clear her name over a controversial leasing deal.
“The process of trying to clear my name has been long drawn out and for the sake of the institution I have decided to abandon this process and resign to enable the commission to focus on the preparations for the 2016 local government elections,” Tlakula said in a statement.
Tlakula became steeped in controversy after Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found that she had flouted procurement regulations in securing a multi-million rand lease for the IEC’s head office in Centurion.
Opposition parties called for her resignation and the matter was taken to the Electoral Court, where judge Lotter Wepener found Tlakula’s conduct as then chief executive of the IEC warranted her removal.
Tlakula then approached the Constitutional Court, which last month dismissed her application to appeal the Electoral Court’s judgement.
Her resignation was met with mixed reactions from the commission and political parties.
The IEC acknowledged Tlakula’s contribution to the commission, but conceded that “her resignation opens the way for the commission to begin closing a particularly challenging and tumultuous period in the electoral commission’s history and to move forward as an institution.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters, one of the parties involved in the court action against Tlakula, welcomed her resignation saying Tlakula was a threat against democracy because she could be influenced by politicians.
“Her resignation has saved parliament from having to remove her to restore public trust and integrity to the institution of the IEC,” the party said in a statement.
