Concerns raised by DA and ANC over eThekwini ward 110 election results

The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has rejected the eThekwini ward 110 by-election outcome, citing irregularities in the voter registration process.

The ward which was previously under the party, was won by the Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) on Wednesday. The ward includes the Durban north areas of Glen Anil, Mount Edgecombe and Mount Moriah.

The party's deputy provincial leader Sithembiso Ngema on Sunday said it had not accepted the results since it lodged a complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Ngema said his party is still waiting for the report from the electoral body, which confirmed that it was investigating the allegation of irregularities pertaining to the voter registration.

“We are waiting for the IEC to give us a report on what it found about the allegations that there were many people that were found to have used one address. Secondly, it was discovered that there were voters who used a petrol service station as their address. We want to know how that happened because there is no informal settlement in Mount Moriah, except RDP houses and flats,” said Ngema.

He further explained that if the party is not satisfied with the IEC’s investigation outcome, the party will meet and decide on the next step.

Both the DA and ANC lodged complaints with the IEC on Tuesday, however, the electoral body said the parties missed the boat as the deadline for complaints had lapsed. Nevertheless, the IEC said it would investigate the allegations. The ANC also raised concerns with the election results, questioning its validity.

The IEC provincial spokesperson Thabani Ngiwra on Sunday confirmed that the results were declared and published, however, he refused to be drawn on what the electoral commission found on the allegations of false voter registration.

The allegations were that there were 135 voters who appeared under the same address in Mount Moriah, which turned out to be a one bedroom flat listed as 1 Mount Moriah Drive. Further claims were that 79 registered voters gave their address as 2 Mount Moriah Drive which is also a one bedroom flat. Eighty nine voters were said to have been registered using the address of a cemetery near an informal settlement.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za