A war of words has broken out between the Independent Democrats and the Democratic Alliance over a DA radio advertisement that allegedly vilifies ID leader Patricia de Lille and her party.
ID leadership in the Eastern Cape has lodged a complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission saying the broadcast advertisements mislead the public into voting for the DA.
Provincial spokesperson Eric Whitaker said the ID objected to the DA’s advertisement in which a woman voter claims ”a vote for a smaller party is a wasted vote”.
The woman claimed she was thinking of voting for the ID but changed her mind to vote for the DA because she did not want to waste a vote by voting for a one-man party.
”This is false information as all votes in opposition to the ruling party carry the same value,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker, who is number 12 on the ID provincial list and not in the top ten as reported, said the latest DA advertisement used the name of De Lille and the ID in a defamatory manner while it persuaded voters to vote for the DA.
Whitaker said in letter to the IEC the DA saw the ID as its biggest threat.
”We cannot condone the breaching of the Electoral Code of Conduct,” he said.
Whitaker has also sent a copy of the complaint letter to the Advertising Standards Authority, which responsible for regulating advertising activities in the country.
De Lille on Monday alerted all of the party’s provincial structures to the move by the DA to shift its campaign from attacking the ANC to criticising other opposition parties.
She said the DA was using the radio campaign ”because they are frightened of the ID and it is clear we are having a major impact”.
”They are spending hundreds of thousands of rands defending themselves,” De Lille said.
The party advised its members not to believe what it called the ”DA propaganda”.
DA provincial leader Athol Trollip stood by his party’s advertisement saying its message reflected the truth about the ID.
”We firmly believe that a vote for a smaller party is a wasted vote. We believe in strong opposition and we have seen in the past how smaller parties split the votes,” Trollip said.
”Yes, Patricia de Lille is the beginning and the end of the ID party. I support the advertising campaign because it tells exactly what this party is. She must grow up and know that we are in an election campaign now — and she must realise that going to Parliament is no easy walk,” Trollip said.
He said more on the ID is yet to come as the DA election campaign intensified. The DA plans to distribute pamphlets against De Lille and her party.
Meanwhile, ID provincial co-ordinator Fred Darke said the party is getting stronger and stronger in the Eastern Cape. He claimed between 250 and 600 members are joining the party in the province a day.
A total of 23 branches have been launched throughout the province.
Darke said the party would surely make inroads into DA and UDM support in the province. – Sapa