/ 12 February 2009

DA: Cope stole our poster boards

The Congress of the People (Cope) stuck almost all its posters in Ekurhuleni over Democratic Alliance (DA) poster boards, the DA said on Thursday.

The DA has reported Cope to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), said East Rand councillor Manny de Freitas.

”We realised what was going on after receiving repeated reports that peeling Cope posters were pasted on to old DA election posters from 2006 and Crime Campaign posters from 2008,” he said.

”We are talking about literally thousands of posters that have been erected all over the Ekurhuleni Metro. At roughly R12 per poster board, this represents a huge financial loss to the Democratic Alliance.”

De Freitas said there was an ”ongoing trend of DA poster theft” since before Cope was formed.

”While possession of stolen goods is a crime, so is the actual theft. It is therefore quite clear that more than one political party is involved,” he said.

The DA would lay a complaint with the IEC and ask for the commission’s assistance in getting its posters back.

De Freitas said it was ”morally and ethically” correct for Cope and any other party involved in the stealing of posters to publicly apologise to the DA and return its posters.

”We all know that this is not going to happen, so we are asking the IEC to take action to rectify the situation.”

Cope provincial congress national committee member Ndzitho Kalita said the party had not erected posters in Ekurhuleni.

”As far as I’m aware, we haven’t even put up posters in Ekurhuleni yet. I don’t know anything about it, they have not raised the issue with us,” he said. — Sapa