DA seeks urgent legal advice over Tshwane vote counting debacle
The DA says it will be seeking legal advice on the decision by the Independent Electoral Commission’s decision to reject the votes cast by the multiparty coalition councillors.
The DA in the capital disputes the decision by the IEC to declare 69 votes as invalid, or as spoilt ballots, in the election for council speaker.
The African Transformation Movement's Mncedi Ndzwanana was elected as the new Tshwane council speaker in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Ndzwanana, who was nominated by the ANC-led coalition, beat ActionSA's Kholofelo Morodi to the position.
Morodi was the candidate from the DA-led multi-party coalition.
Ndzwanana received 105 votes, while Morodi only managed 37 out of a total of 211 votes.
The DA’s Jacqui Uys says they believe that the IEC officials were put under pressure by the ANC and EFF members.
“During the counting process the DA ,ActionSA and the Freedom Front Plus party agents pointed to the fact that the 69 ballots clearly indicated the intention of the voters.
“The IEC classified the 69 votes as spoiled based on the fact that they were marked not with crosses but with number. We believe that the IEC officials were under pressure by the ANC and EFF to disregard these ballots in order to ensure that the election of their preferred candidate.”
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