The legitimacy of previous polls in South Africa’s democratic process has been placed in the spotlight by Inkatha Freedom Party leader and Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Speaking at his party’s weekend election launch in KwaZulu-Natal, Buthelezi said that there was nothing wrong in the ruling African National Congress’s aim to extend its grip by winning KwaZulu-Natal but the fact was ”they will not”.
A national election is expected in March or April this year.
In a speech released on the IFP website, he said that during the first non-racial election of 1994 ”I remember that many boxes containing IFP votes from the polling stations in the northern part of the province [KwaZulu-Natal] were emptied all over the valleys and forests of the region”.
”This was done by people employed by the Independent Electoral Commission [IEC] who were ANC supporters,” said Buthelezi.
With ANC leaders indicating that they want to be able to rule both the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal alone — without being required to form coalitions with the New National Party and IFP respectively — Buthelezi accused the ANC of trying to ”seize political control of KwaZulu-Natal not by means of an election but by tampering with our Constitution and adopting the treacherous legislation allowing for the crossing of the floor”.
Although Buthelezi serves in the ANC-dominated national Cabinet — by virtue of the strength of his party at KwaZulu-Natal provincial government level — he said the ANC ”has given notice that its main objective is that of winning KwaZulu-Natal”.
He appealed to the ANC to play by the rules.
”We do not want to see the electoral fraud [that] tainted the general elections both in 1994 and 1999 in a very material manner,” said Buthelezi.
”The electoral fraud [that] occurred in 1999 was discovered by our MP Jaenette Vilakazi, who disclosed this to the IEC.
”However, this happened after the deadline to correct the electoral results had already lapsed. The whole of South Africa has not forgotten how according to IEC computers the IFP was already second only to the ANC. I even received a phone call from [then] president [Nelson] Mandela congratulating me for the success of my party in that election.
”Then all of a sudden the computers ground to a halt and we were told that the so-called good showing of the IFP in the election had been a computer error. I also challenge the ANC to compete in KwaZulu-Natal in an environment which is free from violence and intimidation.”
IEC spokesperson Lydia Young said it was unlikely the IEC would comment but she pledged to put the matter to her bosses and report back. — I-Net Bridge