Dark cloud over KZN

2004-04-15 13:43

Durban - The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) believes there was a considerable amount of vote rigging in the KwaZulu-Natal elections, Inkatha Freedom Party provincial spokesperson Blessed Gwala said on Thursday.

He told reporters in Durban that his party had already lodged more than 50 complaints to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

These included IEC officials allowing people without barcoded identity books and some whose names did not appear on the voters' roll to vote.

Gwala said the IFP's main concern was about voter registration stickers found in the Durban area on Wednesday. Voter registration was completed months ago.

Wednesday's alleged discovery of stickers raises the possibility of fraudulent late registration.

The IFP has laid a charge of corruption against an IEC officer in Inanda, north of the city, allegedly found in possession of such stickers.

Gwala said the officer claimed the stickers were given to her by the IEC on Wednesday morning.

The party also lodged a complaint with election authorities accusing its main rival in the province, the ANC, of pasting registration stickers into ID books of voters at the SJ Smith hostel in Merebank.

However, the IEC has said it had been established that the 107 stickers found at the hostel were for people who had properly registered.

They would have been able to cast their ballot because their names were on the voters' roll.

Gwala said some of the over 50 complaints had been referred to party lawyers for legal advice.

Decision on the elections

He said the IFP would only decide if the poll was free and fair after their concerns had been resolved, and this would have to be done before the release of the final results.

"We will wait until the final outcome to decide if the election has been free and fair."

Should the party lose the election in the province it would not resort to violence, but would use legal channels to resolve any problems which may arise, Gwala said.

Commenting on a Democratic Alliance councillor who was shot and wounded in Folweni on the South Coast early on Thursday, Gwala said: "We believe this was a political incident. The DA is suffering just like the IFP is in the province."

He said three IFP members had been killed in KwaZulu-Natal since March 29 and a former Umkhonto weSizwe member was arrested in connection with one of the murders.

Umkhonto weSizwe is the former armed wing of the ANC.

He accused the police of siding with the ANC saying they had not investigated these murders properly, but "were too busy escorting ANC party agents".

- SAPA