50 IEC officials get the boot

THE Independent Electoral Commission has sacked 50 presiding officers after an internal investigation revealed they allegedly held positions in political parties.

Addressing delegates at the launch of the 2011 municipal elections in Johannesburg yesterday, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, the IEC's chief electoral officer, said the officials, who have already been replaced, were found to belong to political parties.

She said the officials had been recruited to assist the IEC with voter registration.

"We received objections against 69 proposed registration officials who allegedly did not meet our selection criteria and, after an investigation, we removed and replaced 50.

"The highest number of objections came from Limpopo, where we had to replace 38 candidates who were all found to be politically active for a political party, or held a political office in a political party," she said.

Tlakula said 10 of the candidates came from the Western Cape.

Asked which parties the officials belonged to, Tlakula said: "I don't have that information. The fact that we upheld the objections means that there was merit in those objections."

Tlakula said voting stations will be open on February 5 and 6 for registration of first-time eligible voters and re-registration for residents who have changed their addresses.

She announced that the IEC has created new voting districts, and increased the number of voting stations from 19726 in 2009 to 20868.

Tlakula also said an existing electoral Act had been amended for the number of signatures of registered voters required to register a political party increased from 50 to 100.

Sicelo Shiceka, the minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, is to announce the date for municipal elections soon.

Residents can call 0800-118000 on week days between 8am and 5pm to verify their registration details or check where they must register if they are first time voters.

They can also visit www.elections.org.za