Jacob Zuma warned the IEC not to “rush” the party, saying doing so would “provoke” the “anger” of MK supporters. (Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/Mail & Guardian)
The results of national and provincial elections are on the brink, with the Umkhonto we'Sizwe Party (MKP) and 25 other parties calling on the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to delay the announcement of the results to address claims of voter fraud.
Appearing dramatically at the Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Johannesburg just before the Electoral Commission was due to brief the media, MKP leader Jacob Zuma issued a challenge to the Electoral Commission, saying there would be “no results” until the Electoral Commission's challenges had been heard.
Zuma said it would be a “problem” if the results were announced before his party and others were “satisfied” that their grievances had been heard, and that those “in charge” should “not stand in our way”.
Zuma warned the IEC not to “rush” the party, saying doing so would “provoke” the “anger” of MK supporters.
The IEC had already extended the deadline for the parties to lodge their complaints until 6pm on Saturday, with other parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), also accepting the outcome.
The MKP has 14% of the support nationally and 45% in KwaZulu-Natal. The 25 smaller parties that have joined the protests include the South African Rainbow Alliance and the Congress for African Change.
They have written to the IEC to inform them that they will go to court if they are not given the time they claim they need to back up their complaint with evidence.
“Nobody will die if the results are not announced tomorrow,” President Zuma told reporters.
He did not give details of the party's complaint but described it as “serious” and suggested the party was prepared to take legal action to block the announcement of the final results, scheduled for 6pm on Sunday.
Shortly after his speech, the presidency released a statement confirming that President Cyril Ramaphosa would be present at the results announcement venue.
The MKP issued a statement on Thursday morning, just hours after polling stations closed, calling on the IEC's top leadership to resign and beginning to question the legitimacy of the election.
He accused the commission of focusing on “persecution and disqualification” of President Zuma – a reference to the fact that he is legally disqualified from serving as a member of Parliament because of his criminal record – instead of holding free and fair elections.
In the same statement, the party again accused IEC commissioner Janet Love of bias and said the commission's decision to allow a complaint that Zuma was barred from standing for parliament under section 47(1)(e) denies South Africans the right to choose a leader of their own choice.
The court ruled on May 20 that the law had been correctly applied, rejecting the notion that the IEC's decision had been invalidated with bias. The provision prohibits anyone who has served a prison sentence of more than one year from running for office in the legislature.
President Zuma accused the IEC of treating party officials “like prisoners” and said the state body was not taking into account the party's complaints.
“I don't know what kind of democracy that is,” he said.
“No one has to declare it tomorrow. We need more time. If we do, people will provoke us because we know what we are saying. Why the rush? We expect whoever is in charge to listen to what we are saying. We should not create problems where there are no problems,” President Zuma said.
“We are here for peace, for everything to work out. We know we need two-thirds. Don't try to get in the way of that with all your public shenanigans.”
“The people we are asking to have their complaints heard must be tolerant, listen to our complaints and move forward. If that doesn't happen then we will have to go to court to block it. I don't think we need to go that far because that's what we're going to do. We're not playing around,” Zuma said.
Speaking at a briefing after President Zuma's speech, the IEC said it had dealt with more than 579 challenges but was working to address them all before announcing the results.
IEC chair Mosotho Moyepiya said it was “too early” to say whether the challenges would have a significant impact on the election outcome.
Despite the MK Party's threat that there would be problems if the IEC released the results on Sunday, Moepiya said he was confident the commission would make the announcement.
“I'm interested in this job, and this job [come to a] They are getting close to the final stage and they have an interest in this. They are not bystanders, they have many voters. South Africa is waiting for us. [and] market, [there are many things] It needs to be considered,” he said.
Moepiya added that the IEC is currently conducting 20 recounts in Gauteng, three in the North West and one in Limpopo, but that this will have no impact on the outcome.
In the Western Cape province, where the Democratic Alliance won a majority, nearly 20 political parties and independent candidates have jointly contested the results, accusing some districts of “inconsistencies” in the processing of votes.
By law, the IEC has the power to declare a final outcome if it determines that the outcome will not be materially affected by any objections raised. Any party wishing to challenge the outcome may apply to the court.