Following a by-elections held in the Eastern Cape at Nyandeni Local Municipality, Ward 21, the African Transformation Movement has decided to officially lodge a complaint and a dispute of the outcomes of these by-elections with the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa.

In our initial statement, as released on the 28th of March 2019, we expressed our gratitude and joy over members and supporters of the African Transformation Movement coming out to vote for a leader of their choice and applauded their efforts in restoration and transformation of the current status quo and political landscape in South Africa.

In the same statement, we outlined all the issues that we are not happy with as far as the Nyandeni Local Municipality Ward 21 by-elections is concerned. Part of these issues include the following:
1. It is alleged that there was a bag with Identity Documents outside the one of the voting venues where voters from Ward 24 entered and never went through a vetting/screening process and were able to cast their votes using those Identity Documents;
2. Supplementary to point 1, it is there were voters at the Eluxolweni Voting Station who voted more than once after having collected Identity Documents from the ANC table outside. These voters all returned the Identity Documents to the bag after voting. Some of these incidences were reported to the Presiding Officer;
3. Over 130 voters from Ward 30 were transported to vote in Ward 21 and upon their arrival, they never went through a screening process with claims of the “zip-zip” machine being dysfunctional;
4. At the Upper Matanzima voting station, ATM Party Agents were removed and prevented from entering the voting venue for almost an hour – where the Presiding Officer and the Deputy Presiding Officer held a meeting and chased ATM Party Agents out;
5. The Voters’ Roll contained names of deceased voters and as per records, ballots had been issued against these deceased individuals;
6. At the Upper Matanzima Voting Station, the IEC officials used normal marking pens on some voters instead of using the permanent inking solution. Upon confrontation, the IEC Staff claimed to have misplaced the proper inking solution but would be able to re-ink the previously marked voters;
7. A box containing marked ballot papers was discovered at the Eluxolweni Voting Station. This led to the removal of the implicated Presiding Officer. We were not able to check this on the other six Voting Stations;
8. An ATM member was assaulted by ANC activists at the Town Hall Voting Station;
9. At the Bantini Voting Station only 33 voters were recorded, although we know that far more ATM members voted for ATM;
10. There were voters who voted more than once

It is against this background that we decided lodge an official dispute with the Independent Electoral Commission Office, in line with the Electoral Act, as we believe in free and fair elections – a stance that we feel was not well articulated and represented in these elections.

Being a party that is formed on the values of Peace, Ubuntu, Transformation, Servant Leadership and Accountability (#PUTSA1st), we owe it to all of South Africa to stand firm against an unjust and corrupt system, seeing that we are facing the General Elections on the 8th of May 2019.

Issued by The ATM