There is no consideration by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to postpone the upcoming 2016 municipal elections, vice chairperson Terry Tselane said on Monday. “I must indicate here that from the side of the commission, there has never been a consideration to postpone the election. That question has never arisen and it will not arise,” Tselane told reporters at a briefing in Pretoria. “We are confident that we will be able to deal with all the issues that we are supposed to be dealing with. We will then be able to deliver the elections with constitutionally stipulated period. That is important … because there is a narration saying otherwise, particularly in the media.”
IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini said the electoral commission was filing an urgent Constitutional Court appeal against the Electoral Court order postponing the Tlokwe by-elections in the North West province.
Mashinini said that at a national scale the Electoral Court order had created a number of uncertainties. “The commission deliberated on the Electoral Court order of last week in conjunction with the Constitutional Court ruling of November 30, 2015. A number of uncertainties have arisen following the differences in interpretation of the Constitutional Court ruling,” said Mashinini . He said it was unclear now whether the lack of an address on the voters roll invalidated that particular voter.
“The commission believes that an appeal to the Constitutional Court will serve to provide the necessary clarity and certainly regarding its original ruling and the obligations of the Electoral Commission,” said Mashinini.
Full Article: South Africa Election 2016 going ahead – IEC | eNCA.
