ANC in KZN accuses EFF members of defacing posters

THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has accused EFF members of defacing their election posters over the weekend, but the opposition party has denied this.

The ANC alleged that a number of its campaign posters bearing the face of President Cyril Ramaphosa were defaced in Underberg, in the Harry Gwala District, in southern KZN.

ANC provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said the party had reported the matter to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). He said such acts showed blatant intolerance and were a clear violation of electoral regulations.

“We’re very concerned about the violation of the ANC’s democratic right to campaign for the upcoming local government elections. During successive campaigns, the ANC observed its election materials being badly defaced or destroyed, with some having EFF stickers put on them.”

He said the party was not going to take such acts “lying down”.

“We are alarmed by the demagoguery of the opposition as they completely violate the process of free and fair elections,” he said, adding that the party expects the IEC to punish parties that violate electoral codes and laws.

Ntombela added that the pictures of vandalised posters had been sent to the IEC and the police in Underberg had been asked to monitor the activities of people who deface election material with a view to catching the perpetrators.

“Destroying other political party posters should be viewed as a sign of political intolerance and lack of respect for the democratic space which the masses of our people have fought for,” added Ntombela.

EFF provincial spokesperson Nkululeko Ngubane said the party was aware of the ANC’s accusations, and described them as false and untrue.

“We saw what they are saying and it’s just a clear indication that they are desperate and just want to portray us as hooligans. How do they know it’s our members who did that? Do they have proof? The fact that their poster is covered with the EFF poster doesn’t mean our members did that. It could be their members,” said Ngubane.

He said the party was also going to report Sunday’s incident to the IEC.

The Mercury reported yesterday that EFF leader Julius Malema and other EFF members were denied access to the Sakhamuzi Community Hall voting station in Dambuza outside Pietermaritzburg by ANC members.

ANC members clashed with EFF supporters and there were scuffles.

IEC KZN provincial communications officer Thabani Ngwira said it was dealing with a number of incidents and could not provide information at this stage.