Elections: ATM Wants DA’s Name Removed from Ballot Following Phoenix Poster Debacle

Elections: ATM Wants DA’s Name Removed from Ballot Following Phoenix Poster Debacle

  • Vuyo Zungula, the head of the African Transformation Movement, believes that the Democratic Alliance's name should be removed from the ballot papers before the local government elections
  • Zungula shared his frustrations regarding the posters plastered in Phoenix, north of Durban, and made sure to bring up the legalities of the matter
  • Zungula stated that the DA did not follow the IEC's Code of Conduct as the party allegedly used language that may have incited violence

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DURBAN - President of the African Transformation Movement (ATM) Vuyo Zungula has sent a letter to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) insisting that the Democratic Alliance's (DA) name be taken off the ballot papers.

This follows the controversial posters that were plastered in Phoenix by the official party. Zungula stated that the party took no notice of the IEC's Code of Conduct. He made special mention of the area in the Code of Conduct where parties are told not to use any language that has the potential to stir up violence.

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Helen Zille refuses to denounce Phoenix posters: "Political parties continue to sow racial tension"

Zungula directed the letter to Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo and specifically stated that the lives of black people matter.

ATM, DA, IEC, Phoenix, posters, remove DA, Code of Conduct
The ATM believes that the DA broke the IEC's Code of Conduct and should be removed from the ballot papers. Image: parliament.gov.za and WIKUS DE WET / AFP
Source: Getty Images

According to IOL, Zungula said that the DA's alleged celebration of the loss of black lives indicates that the party does not want to join in on the establishment of a fair and equal country. The publication wrote that Zungula said the DA chose to obviously dismiss the above as they erected posters that caused tons of racial tension in Phoenix.

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A report by City Press revealed that ATM is pushing itself in areas where it has no seats. Recently, the party said it planned to bring respect and uBuntu to Johannesburg.

Phoenix: ANC expected to take DA to SAHRC over “racist” campaigning

Previously, Briefly News reported that the South African Human Rights Commission should expect to receive a grievance from the African National Congress about the Democratic Alliance's controversial Phoenix posters.

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Public Protector snaps back, says report was not released to coincide with ANC's election campaign

On Thursday, 7 October, ANC Deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte visited the community north of Durban to address the issue head-on and assess the situation ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa's visit to KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend.

The posters were conceptualised by DA KZN Chairperson Dean Macpherson and capitalised on the racial tension in the community following the civil unrest in July. The signboards read: "The ANC called you racists," and "The DA calls you heroes."

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Reeshni Chetty avatar

Reeshni Chetty Reeshni Chetty is a senior current affairs reporter. The Damelin journalism and media studies graduate was top of her class with 16 distinctions and she boasts experience in radio, print and digital media. When Reeshni is not rushing to bring you the most important and breaking news in current affairs, she's raising awareness around mental health. Reeshni has a passion for breaking the stigma surrounding mental health issues.