The Pan Africanist Congress on Wednesday laughed off comments by African National Congress leader Thabo Mbeki that it was ”looking for other excuses” with its complaints about the election process.
”A statement like that shows lack of seriousness in determining whether there is a serious problem”, said PAC national secretary Mosebjane Malatsi with a smile.
”All our complaints from our perspective are valid. This is not spurious.”
He was speaking at the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) results centre in Pretoria where representatives from all parties were milling underneath the so-far-empty results boards.
Mbeki had commented in Soweto on Tuesday that the Inkatha Freedom Party and the PAC were trying to discredit South Africa’s democracy because the two parties knew that they were not going to do well in the elections.
Mbeki said they were reporting ”fake” incidents of electoral fraud because they could not raise voter support.
”If he [Mbeki] says this, he must come up with facts and figures to prove us wrong,” said Malatsi.
”He can’t just dismiss it like that.”
He said the IEC itself had not said their complaints were invalid.
However, one complaint that the PAC had made, of irregularities in the Eastern Cape regarding special votes, was not valid, according to the IEC. Chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula said as far as she was aware only people who truly could not get to the voting stations had been allowed special votes.
Still, Malatsi was adamant.
”Every complaint must be followed, investigated, and proven wrong with facts,” he said, as he showed Sapa another complaint that his organisation was planning to submit on Wednesday.
This one regarded the African National Congress setting up a table with ANC pamphlets outside a voting station.
The IEC had said earlier that this did not constitute a breach of the electoral law.
The IFP also asserted that it was not making false complaints.
”All our complaints have been valid as far as we can assertain,” said Chris van der Heyde, IFP candidate and legal representative.
”We reject that [Mbeki’s comment] with the contempt it deserves,” he said. — Sapa
Special Report: Elections 2004