Staff Reporter
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has confirmed the dismissal of one of its employees who leaked the candidates’ lists of the African National Congress (ANC) and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
The commission launched an investigation after the lists surfaced on social media and deemed the employee’s actions to be illegal. Prior to the confirmation of the leak’s origin, the commission had acknowledged that it originated from within its office.
In a press conference held in Centurion, Pretoria, Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo provided a preliminary report on the matter.
“The commission is able to provide a preliminary report as follows: the investigation has narrowed the source of the disclosure to a workstation that has been used to generate and store those reports.” Mamabolo said.
“Later, the said reports were deleted from the workstation. Earlier today, that workstation was secured and imaged in the presence of the officials whose credentials were used to generate the reports.” Added Mamabolo.
The Executive Chairman of the Institute of Election Management Services in Africa (IEMSA), Terry Tsekane, has however criticized the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) request to have the United States (US) observe South Africa’s upcoming general elections. Tselane argues that the DA’s request is a violation of the country’s constitution.
“That letter that is supposed to be coming from the DA is very strange indeed, and it’s strange because the DA is an official opposition, and you would have expected them to understand the rules and the laws of the country, particularly the constitution.
“When you ask a foreign entity to basically come and do voter tabulations, election tabulation, you are basically telling them I’ve got no confidence in the capacity of the electoral commission to run the election.”
The IEC has not yet responded to the DA’s request for US election observers.
