Parties ‘will need to settle down for polls’

DEPUTY chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo has urged political parties to resolve their issues peacefully to avoid putting the local elections in jeopardy.

The August 3 elections are expected to be hotly contested. Violence and murder have characterised the campaign so far.

Political parties would also need to manage the expectations of supporters because violence would put off voters from casting their ballots.

A number of metros are closely contested, with the ruling party facing loss of support in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality and Tshwane.

Tension has heightened in recent weeks with protests against poor service delivery and “imposed” candidates.

The ANC’s announcement of MP Thoko Didiza as its mayoral candidate in Tshwane resulted in a widespread revolt which left five people dead.

Mamabolo said the Electoral Commission of SA was worried. “We won’t be taking our responsibility seriously if we were to say we are not worried.

“We really want to urge political parties to stabilise the environment before the elections. It can’t be that because of the fallout in the nomination process the entire process is placed in jeopardy,” he said.

The electoral commission also needed to repair its reputation after its problems with the correct addresses in the Tlokwe by-election.

“The addresses issue has created a situation where our reputation took a dent. We can’t ignore that fact.” The best way for the body to redress its mistakes was to become better at its job, he said.