Councillors floor-crossing OK'd

2008-12-01 19:26

Bloemfontein - The 19 National Democratic Convention municipal councillors who crossed the floor in Kwazulu-Natal in September 2007 were lawfully entitled to do so, the Supreme Court of Appeal held on Monday.

The National Democratic Convention in August 2007 tried to expel 19 members in a pre-empted step before the floor-crossing window opened at the time.

The 19 turned to the Pietermaritzburg High Court for an order declaring their expulsions to be unlawful.

If a councillor lost his party membership he ceased to be a member of a municipal council, thus their expulsions would have prevented them from crossing the floor.

At the time, the high court application was postponed to a date in the floor-crossing period.

The parties agreed that, pending the final outcome of the application, the council members would "remain suspended as members" of Nadeco.

However, before the matter reached the court again, the 19 councillors crossed the floor to several other political parties including the Inkatha Freedom Party.

When the Independent Electoral Commission recognised their move to other political parties, Nadeco filed court papers seeking a court order that the councillors' crossing of the floor was unlawful.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court found in favour of Nadeco.

On appeal in Bloemfontein the Supreme Court of Appeal held that the councillors had been lawfully entitled to cross the floor when they did.

Their appeal succeeded and the order of the Pietermaritzburg High Court was set aside.

- SAPA