Civil society organisation, Democracy in Action, has threatened to take legal action against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) if it fails to make public the minutes of a meeting with United States Ambassador, Reuben Brigety within seven days.
The IEC came under scrutiny after it emerged that some of its commissioners sat down with Brigety in Pretoria earlier this week.
The meeting fuelled concerns that the US would interfere with South Africa’s electoral processes.
However, the commission says there is nothing wrong meeting up with ambassadors.
The organisation’s Chairperson, Thabo Mtweni says, “The way the meeting was presented to us especially from the US embassy, it seems as if there was a secret meeting that was held. As a country we were not in the know. So, we’ve written [to] the IEC to ask specific questions.”
“Specifically, we are asking for the minutes of the meeting, if the meeting ever took place. What was the agenda and what were the decisions that were taken during that meeting. And lastly, because there are also rumours that the IEC is receiving funding especially from the US embassy or the US government,” explains Mtweni.
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