An IEC presiding officer in Hammarsdale has been fired after party agents alerted officials to an ANC-branded vehicle that was due to be used to transport election material.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has fired a presiding officer in Hammarsdale after party agents raised the alarm over election material being prepared for transport in a vehicle bearing African National Congress (ANC) branding.
The incident took place on the first day of special voting, with the second and final day taking place on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday's local government elections.
KwaZulu-Natal Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said the presiding officer had arranged what was described as an e-hailing taxi to transport election material.
However, an investigation established that the vehicle belonged to the official and was being driven by her son.
Party agents reported the vehicle to an area manager, who intervened and stopped the material from being loaded.
Masinga said the IEC had ended its working relationship with the presiding officer because the use of a vehicle displaying party colours could undermine confidence in the commission's impartiality.
“Because the Presiding Officers cannot be seen to be travelling in a vehicle that is clad in party colours, we then had to part ways with that Presiding Officer, because it sends a very wrong message that a Presiding Officer is travelling with election material in a vehicle that is branded with party colours,” she said.
Masinga confirmed that the vehicle was branded in ANC colours.
“The car was branded in ANC party colours in Hammarsdale because it's already out there in the public domain; it's trending on social media,” she said.
The area manager stopped the loading process before the material was transported in the vehicle and took responsibility for it.
Sensitive election material and police escorts
The incident also raised questions about the arrangements for transporting election material after voting stations close.
Masinga explained that items such as ballot booths, ballot boxes and signage were considered non-sensitive and could be left at voting stations. Sensitive material, including ballot papers, security stamps, ink and voters' rolls, had to be returned to the IEC's satellite warehouses.
She said sensitive material should ideally be transported under police escort, but acknowledged that SAPS members were not always available when voting station officials were ready to leave.
“Absolutely, but if there is no member of the SAPS on site and we need to leave, we do allow our staff, especially in voting stations that are categorised as low risk or medium risk,” she said.
Masinga said officials could not be expected to remain at voting stations for extended periods after closing, as they also had to complete the reconciliation of ballots administered during special voting.
She said the IEC asked prospective presiding officers whether they owned a vehicle that could be made available for election duties. If they did not, they were asked whether they had access to one.
The commission did not prescribe how officials obtained access to a vehicle, provided it was available for their duties and they could transport election material when required. Masinga acknowledged that using an e-hailing vehicle was unusual.
IEC says presiding officers must remain non-partisan
The IEC will not engage the ANC over the incident, Masinga said, arguing that the responsibility for avoiding any situation that could compromise the commission's neutrality rested with the presiding officer.
She said the commission did not know how the vehicle came to be branded in ANC colours.
“They are the ones with the responsibility to maintain non-partisanship at any stage whilst they are performing Presiding Officer duties,” she said.
Special voting concludes on Tuesday. The IEC has approved more than 2.6 million applications for special votes, with general voting scheduled for Wednesday, November 4.