Ward elections queried

TWO wards in the Enoch Mgijima municipal area have lodged complaints of the manner in which ward committees have been elected, citing politicising the process and that the legal processes of calling for such meetings had not been followed.

The Rep has copies of two letters from representatives of Ward 15 and 26 complaining that the election processes had been flawed. Both letters have a stamp of receipt from the local authority.

Ward 15 comprises Magxaki, Eskom, Railway, parts of Nomzamo and parts of Tylden farms and Ward 26, Whittlesea, Extension 4, Nqobokeni, Nkandla and Zone 1 and 2 in Dongwe.

The Ward 15 letter is accompanied by 134 signatures. In it, Buzani Gcinisa disputes the process

followed to nominate ward committee members on January 23.

“We feel the process was not fair enough as the meeting was announced on January 22 when we were supposed to be have been given 48 hours’ notice.

“Speaker Mzoxolo Peter seemed to be biased in his actions as he allowed [Luvuyo] Ngculu [ward councillor] to nominate from the floor,” Gcinisa said.

He said people who appeared on the voters’ roll of Ward 14, were elected on to the Ward 15 committee.

Gcinisa claimed Peter was inconsistent in that he allowed certain structures to nominate more than four people in one meeting while he declined it in another.

“The process was not free and fair to everyone who participated. There was a lot of intimidation and we are not happy with the results.”

In Ward 26, Andile Sishuba complained ANC slogans were shouted before the start of the meeting on December 11.

Sishuba, a Cope regional chairman, said motivation given for one of the candidates was that the

candidate was active in the ANC. He said the ANCYL had nominated a candidate saying the nominee was associated with a political party.

According to the Establishment and Operation of Municipal Ward Committees Notice 965 of 2005, only residents registered as voters are allowed in ward committee election meetings.

He said no voters’ roll was brought to the said meeting.

Sishuba said Peter emphasised the importance of proper consultation before meetings sat. However, he said, Ward 2 residents were not consulted.

“During this process, the nominations were done via forms and a closing date for the nominations was declared.

“This is very strange because on the day of the elections, there were names nominated in the meeting.”

Sishuba also claimed some of the voters voted more than once.

Ngculu had not responded to a text message requesting comment at the time of going to print.

Peter said a programme would be developed to deal with the disputes.

This would be done after all ward committees had been established.

‘The process was not free and fair to everyone who participated’