The uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) Party has voiced dissatisfaction with the newly announced local government election timeline, alleging interference in the 2024 national polls and demanding increased oversight of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the party remains unresolved over what it describes as systematic irregularities during the 2024 national government elections, which he argued cast a shadow over the upcoming local government polls.
“We come off the back of a watershed 2024 national government elections… we still have a case obviously to be heard on the 18th of June with the electoral court,” Ndhlela said. “The system… was interfered with. The IEC said themselves in their papers that the system went down because they interfered and were optimizing the release turnaround time of the results.”
Ndhlela questioned who authorized the IEC to intervene in the system and noted the party has yet to receive responses to complaints raised following the previous election. He also cited reports of ballot papers found “in rivers and side of the road and in velds” as further evidence of compromised processes.
“The integrity of the IEC really needs to be jacked up here,” Ndhlela said. “These kinds of issues affect voter apathy. That’s why people now are thinking to themselves, ‘If I go and vote, how do I know my vote is going to be counted against a party that I want represented?’”
The spokesperson confirmed the MK Party has an ongoing court case against the IEC, scheduled for June 18, and said the outcome will inform their approach to the local government elections. He noted that President Cyril Ramaphosa “nonchalantly” announced the local government election date without addressing outstanding concerns.
Despite the criticisms, Ndhlela said the MK Party, which became the official opposition following the 2024 national elections, has been campaigning continuously since 2023. “We understand that national government elections are different. We have been campaigning from day one… to take over power,” he said.
Addressing voter apathy, Ndhlela noted that voter registration increased by 44 percent in 2024, with 70 percent of new registrants being youth. He stressed that public confidence in the IEC must be restored by holding the commission accountable.
On candidate selection, Ndhlela said the MK Party will not adopt a “Hollywood style” approach to choosing mayoral candidates, insisting that community members must identify their own representatives. “South Africans must be the ones through our communities that identify who their councilor should be,” he said.
Ndhlela urged the IEC to “fix themselves in house” before the local government elections and ensure no further system interference occurs.