ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said there was nothing untoward about Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party's intention to participate in the May 29 vote as election observers. Several opposition parties have expressed concern about the issue, and the African Movement for Transformation (ATM) recently wrote to the Electoral Commission to sound the alarm.
Mr Ramaphosa made the remarks during a campaign stop in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria. He said election observers would not interfere with election results.
His first stop was Agnes Mfete's house, where he met a former classmate.
After visiting several homes where residents raised issues of lack of service provision and unemployment, Mr Ramaphosa spent some time at the local Nkomo Village Mall and interacted with the community.
His last stop was the Masofah Sports Ground, where he addressed local residents. He said the First Nation acknowledged the challenges raised and the government was addressing various issues.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of his campaign, Ramaphosa poured cold water on claims that allowing ZANU-PF to observe national and local elections risks undermining the legitimacy and credibility of South Africa's electoral process. .
The president of ATM sent a letter to the IEC regarding this matter.
“The ANC works with many parties around the world. When elections are held in our country, there is nothing wrong with exchanging official documents to say we are holding an election. The observer's mandate is to prevent interference. They're just coming to monitor the elections. We're transparent. We're going to set up the United Nations and so on. They are coming and there is nothing wrong with that,” Ramaphosa said.
