Gonubie ANC rages against PEC

ANC members in Gonubie’s ward 27 accuse the party’s Eastern Cape bosses of imposing a candidate on them for next month’s by-elections.

While residents and party members say they want Vuyisile Hokisi to stand for the November 2 by-elections, Calata House believes Boy-Boy Kalane is the right man to retain the ward, which includes Mzamomhle, Gonubie West, Gonubie North and Quenera North.

The by-elections were called after former councillor Bhelekazi Mabandla resigned after she had incorrectly registered with the IEC as the ward 27 councillor-candidate instead of being a candidate for ward 28 before last year’s municipal polls.

The deadline to submit candidate names with the IEC was on Tuesday and residents claim that ANC Dr W B Rubusana region bosses ignored them when they told them they wanted Hokisi to stand.

ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi told the Daily Dispatch yesterday they were correcting last year’s error when Mabandla was captured as the ward’s candidate instead of Kalane.

Residents admitted that last year they had agreed that Kalane should be fielded, but said they changed their minds and now wanted Hokisi.

They have now vowed to shut down “everything” in the ward, starting with BCM mayor Xola Pakati’s mayoral imbizo at Mzamomhle Hall today.

They have also threatened that no party would be allowed to campaign in the area and that they would disrupt voting on November 2.

Residents’ spokesman Melikhaya Mpukumpa said: “Yes, we endorsed Kalane last August but that was then [and] we have since changed as per the latest BGM, wherein we decided that comrade Hokisi is our preferred candidate.” —