ANC recommendation of Mashinini as IEC Commissioner a slap in face of those denied a vote in 2021

Please find attached English soundbite by Angel Khanyile MP, and Afrikaans soundbite by Adrian Roos MP.

The vote by the ANC to recommend Glen Mashinini as an Electoral Commissioner is a slap in the face of every South African who was denied their right to vote in the 2021 Local Government Elections (LGE).

The IEC Report on the 2021 LGE to the portfolio committee on Home Affairs on 20 May 2022 did not even mention voter management device failures as a challenge faced in the election. Failures in these systems resulted in around 140 000 voters who had changed their registration finding they had in fact not been changed and being unable to vote on election day. A huge number of first time voters were turned away on election day as their details did not appear on the voters roll.

Furthermore, the DA received complaints from over 150 voting stations on election day where the voter management devices failed causing long queues and leading voters to leave the queues in frustration.

The IEC admitted they first tested these devices on registration weekend, despite insisting before the elections that these devices had been tested and a backup process was in place.

Under Mashinini’s watch the IEC failed in its most basic task to manage voter registration and the election in such a way that every person entitled to be registered and vote is able to do so. This followed the washable ink debacle in the 2019 National and Provincial Elections as the latest of a series of events threatening the credibility of our elections. Queries on numerous reports of marked ballot papers that were found on dumping sites, have had no feedback to date.

The ANC decision seeks to ignore the unfair elections we have been subjected to. We have witnessed a number of complaints regarding IEC’s conduct during every election and our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Further to that, the voter turnout keeps decreasing. This is a clear indication that the IEC has no plan to encourage young people to vote.

The DA objects to the nomination of Glen Mashinini in the strongest terms. It shows that not only does the ANC not believe in accountability but there are no consequences for poor performance, even if it costs South Africans their right to vote.