Action SA Says Voters Struggled to Find Party on Ballot Despite Legal Action Against IEC
- ActionSA received multiple claims that voters across various municipalities struggled to find the political party on the ballot during yesterday's election
- The party had previously requested that the Independent Electoral Commission rectify this in time for the election
- South Africans were divided in their opinion on the issue with some saying it is ActionSA's fault and others feeling frustrated
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ActionSA has reported that voters submitted claims that they could not locate the party on ballot papers during yesterday's municipal elections.
The national chairperson of ActionSA, Michael Beaumont, said that the political party encourages voters to report if their ward's ballot papers did not include ActionSA. He specifically mentioned Tshwane, eThekwini, Johannesburg, KwaDukuza, Ekurhuleni and Newcastle municipalities.
News24 reported that ActionSA had made a statement saying they would work with the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to address voter concerns regarding the ballot papers.
Source: Getty Images
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ActionSA takes on IEC over ballot paper omission
According to The Citizen, ActionSA instituted legal action against the IEC following claims that the party was not listed on the local government election ballot.
The reason provided by the commission is that the party failed to adhere to the IEC's requirement that parties had to submit an abbreviation for their name. ActionSA had allowed the IEC to fix the problem but the commission stated that it would likely not do so before the election.
The Electoral Court dismissed ActionSA's case, meaning that voters would need to use the party's logo to identify them on the ballot.
Reactions to ActionSA being difficult to vote for
South Africans had differing opinions regarding the difficulties experienced when trying to find ActionSA on the local government election ballot. Some say ActionSA themselves are to blame while others expressed frustration with the difficulty.
@nguLindokuhle shared:
"Bayanya labo they are overrating themselves, first time in elections they already want to order IEC around with their DA tendencies, they are already smelling huge defeat, hence these silly excuses and bitchy drama .They must go back where they came from."
@OThreeOne1 said:
"ActionSA ignores the question about them filling out IEC forms correctly. Their silence says a lot about their carelessness then blaming everyone else... ANC style."
@ShibeKoenaite said:
"I struggled so much ..."
@Zenzo43796784 shared:
"ActionSA we've been robbed"
IEC probes ANC following rigging claims in special election
Previously, Briefly News reported on a presiding officer who was allegedly caught placing marked ballot papers into ballot boxes on Sunday during the special election for local government.
It is believed that the presiding officer was caught in the act by party agents who then reported the matter to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa, which then called on SAPS to further probe into the allegations.
The incident took place in Ward 93's Kusakusa Primary School in uMbumbulu west of Durban.
Source: Briefly News
