KZN election officer fired for using party-branded car to carry ‘sensitive’ election material - TimesLIVE
A KwaZulu-Natal presiding officer was dismissed on Tuesday for transporting sensitive election material in a party political branded vehicle.
In an update on special votes on Tuesday, Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) provincial electoral officer Ntombfuthi Masinga said the presiding officer from Hammarsdale was seen boarding an e-hailing taxi branded in party colours.
“On investigation, it was established that the e-hailing taxi did belong to the presiding officer concerned and was driven by her son,” she said.
The commission said it immediately terminated her services because she transported “sensitive election material” which could include ballot papers, stamps and ink, in a vehicle branded with party colours and a logo.
“We then had to part ways because it sends a very wrong message. IEC staff must be impartial,” she said.
The IEC also reported another incident at Dassenhoek Library, where supporters of one of the contesting parties forced their way into the precinct where the IEC had a satellite storage facility.
Public order police intervened and dispersed the crowd. The IEC said no election material was tampered with or compromised.
Similar attempts were reported in Richmond, uMkhambathini and Pietermaritzburg, where the commission said political parties tried to gain access or post private guards. Police also intervened and restored order.
“Such transgressions of the Electoral Code of Conduct are regrettable given that all contestants have signed to adhere to the Code of Conduct.”
The commission did not name the parties involved in the storage-facility incidents.
The incidents were reported as the IEC prepared to administer the remaining 228,947 approved special votes in the province on Tuesday.
By the end of the first day, 133,931 special votes, or 37% of the 362,878 approved applications, had been administered, according to the statement.
These comprised 68,114 home visits and 65,817 votes cast at voting stations. A further 83,315 approved home visits remained for the final day.
The IEC also urged voters awaiting home visits to remain at the addresses listed on their approved applications so officials could locate them.
Rain had caused access difficulties at some voting stations, but the commission said these had been attended to and had not prevented stations from opening on time.
Special voting stations close at 5pm on Tuesday.
