Ace vote-buying allegations to be dealt with ‘expeditiously’
The Electoral Commission investigation into allegations of vote-buying by ANC secretarygeneral Ace Magashule was being prioritised, the IEC said.
The IEC on Wednesday confirmed to the Daily Dispatch that it was investigating Magashule for alleged vote-buying after the Democratic Alliance (DA) officially complained about the ANC heavyweight’s conduct when he was allegedly caught on video giving a Cape Town resident R400 while on the campaign trail last week.
The IEC indicated the investigation was expected to be dealt with “expeditiously” and any possible sanctions would be imposed by the electoral court.
The Electoral Commission’s Tsile Maswanganyi said: “The complaint relates to an incident where it is alleged that Mr Magashule gave a financial incentive to a voter in order to secure that vote in favour of the ANC.
“The IEC is in the process of investigating the matter.
“The sanctions are prescribed in section 96(2) of the Electoral Act, 73 of 1998 and can only be imposed by the Electoral Court.”
Asked when the probe would likely be completed, Maswanganyi said: “The IEC has to ensure that it affords an opportunity of right of replies to both parties.
“It is therefore difficult to indicate how long it will take the commission to investigate this matter.”
Contacted for comment on Wednesday, DA national spokesperson Solly Malatsi said the party would like the commission to deal with the complaint “urgently” so there would be consistency and fairness.
“We want speedy resolutions to complaints and should they approach us to ask us to support or provide any additional details, we will do so promptly so that we can assist them to finalise the complaint.
“This is an urgent matter because the IEC regulation is very clear that one cannot use money to entice people to vote for them.
“This is a blatant, clear instance of vote-buying. It was there for the whole world to see, captured on video,” he said.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe promised to get back to the Dispatch with a comment as he was still awaiting feedback from Luthuli House, but at the time of writing, he had not done so.