Action taken on officers

THE Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is taking action against officials involved in wrongdoing related to elections.

Yesterday, the IEC said it had removed a deputy presiding officer in Benoni following a video which showed that the official had allowed a party agent to assist in the transfer of special votes.

The video went viral on Monday and showed a party agent helping to transfer special votes in their double envelopes from a ballot bag used during home visits, to a ballot box in the voting station.

The IEC explained that the transferring of votes from a ballot bag to a box was standard procedure, but forbidden for party agents.

“Ballot bags are used to collect special votes during home visits as ballot boxes are impractical for home visits. At the end of home visits, the special votes collected are then transferred to a ballot box for secure storage and to empty the ballot bag for use on the second day of special voting,” said the IEC.

On the Tzaneen incident, where a pack of three unused and unassembled ballot boxes were found, the IEC said its investigation found that the boxes were lost while being transported by an area manager.

“The person has been suspended pending an internal disciplinary,” the IEC said.

“The ballot boxes were recovered by the SAPS and returned to the IEC.

“The commission appreciates the vigilance of party agents and voters in monitoring the election process and in bringing to its attention potential problems,” the commission said.