Shadow of suspicion hanging over IEC could threaten elections

THE coming elections promise to be the most hotly contested in years as new entrants to the political scene not only add spice to proceedings, but also make a play for real power.

The ANC will obviously emerge victorious on May 7, but not since 1994 has the political terrain been so fractious. Tectonic plates have shifted just a tad. The tripartite alliance, which has strutted the political stage like a colossus since the dawn of democracy, is raucously unravelling. A snake pit is a fair description.

Nelson Mandela, a huge vote winner for the ANC, is gone. There will no doubt be attempts to invoke his name during the campaign. Also, the ANC goes into the elections saddled with an unpopular leader. Jacob Zuma was booed again at FNB Stadium this week. He will do well to stay clear of soccer stadiums in the foreseeable future.

It should be of great concern to Zuma that a party that has stayed united for so many years under the most trying circumstances should now have experienced two splits in such a short time under his watch— and at a time when it should be savouring the victory it had sought for so long. And it seems more may flee from his leadership.

Also worrying for the ANC should be the power struggle in the Congress of South African Trade Unions. The ANC could always count on Cosatu, the most organised force in the alliance, to deliver votes in elections. But the suspension of general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has split the federation down the middle, with metalworkers’ union Numsa, the biggest of its affiliates, leading calls to form a political party to rival the ANC.

This sets the scene for South Africa’s most fiercely fought poll as opposition parties try desperately to profit from the ANC’s agonies. The volume will be higher and so will the suspicions about the conduct and outcome of the elections.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will therefore have to be on its toes as never before. It has done a splendid job so far. More importantly, it has been able to win the trust and confidence of all parties.

But as tension builds, can the IEC still be relied on to deliver free and fair elections? There are a few troubling issues that could erode the public trust necessary for the organisation to do its work effectively.

The IEC does not seem to have covered itself in glory in the manner in which the by-elections in the Tlokwe municipality in North West were conducted.

Allegations currently before the courts are that thousands of people were bused in from outside to vote and IEC staff may have colluded with the ANC, which eventually won most of the wards.

The veracity of these claims is yet to be determined. But it is the sort of suspicion the IEC can do without.

More serious is the cloud hanging over IEC chairwoman Pansy Tlakula’s head. She is embroiled in a controversy about the lease of the commission’s new offices. Public protector Thuli Madonsela has found her role in granting the multimillionrand contract to a company owned by ANC bigwigs to be “grossly irregular” and constituting “unmanageable conflicts of interest”.

Such accusations are a distraction and cast serious aspersions on an organisation that should be beyond reproach.

Tlakula has dug in her heels, accusing Madonsela of acting outside her ambit. Parliament’s portfolio committee, driven by an ANC majority, claims Madonsela failed to follow procedure. It is all very unseemly. The IEC will be the only casualty in all this bickering.

Tlakula should consider the damage she is doing to the IEC by hanging tough. By all accounts, she has done an excellent job as chief electoral officer. She and Brigalia Bam were a formidable duo, negotiating political landmines to build the IEC from scratch into the respected organisation it is.

Walking away from something one has started is not always easy. It is a human frailty. But sometimes letting go is the only way to preserve one’s legacy.

The correct step for Tlakula would have been to stand down until the matter had been thoroughly investigated.

That would not have been an admission of guilt, but simply an avoidance of any appearance of wrongdoing or any risk of tampering with the evidence.

She may have decided to tough it out because of the political cover the ANC provides. She is being unfair to herself, if that is the case.

It is reducing her to a poodle. It also defeats the very objective of the IEC, which is to avoid any appearance of political bias in the running of elections.

These elections could well be a watershed. They will require an IEC that is not only watchful and vigilant, but beyond any whiff of suspicion.

Ultimately it is not about Tlakula. The IEC is too important to the welfare of South Africa to be held hostage to any one person’s ego.