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Forum 4 Service Delivery to oppose elections postponement

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The Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD) says it will oppose the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) court application to have the Local Government Elections postponed to 2022.

The IEC says it intends to file court papers in the Constitutional Court on Wednesday or the latest to have the Local Government Elections date postponed.

The polls are scheduled for October 27.

However, the a report by Former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke recommended that the date be postponed to February next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

F4SD President Mbahare Kekana says, “As the Forum 4 Service Delivery, we will oppose this action by the IEC. What was the IEC doing from as early as March when we had this outbreak? The IEC did nothing and never put in even one mechanism in place to mitigate and ensure that we have got free and fair elections. It is not true that people are scared. South Africans, when they are not happy, they will go to the streets. It is only political parties that are self-serving.”

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Moseneke in July said that free and fair elections will not be possible on October 27.

He said the IEC’s election schedule will be severely affected if elections proceed then as the voter registration weekend scheduled for 31 July and 1 August 2021 is due to take place shortly after Alert Level 4 of the COVID-19 lockdown is expected to be lifted.

He also says that there will be limited time for political parties to canvass voters, impacting the ability to make an informed choice.

IEC Chairperson Glen Mashinini described the investigation as in-depth, comprehensive, and transparent and has outlined what happens next.

He says that although the time to carry out the probe was limited, the inquiry was able to complete its task in 61 days, one day before the scheduled deadline.

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