IEC chairperson Pansy Tlakula. (Gallo)
The integrity and credibility of the 2014 national elections is in serious doubt, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said on Tuesday.
"The report on IEC [Independent Electoral Commission] corruption in a lease agreement raises more questions than answers," said IFP deputy chairperson Albert Mncwango. "The IEC's integrity now stands compromised."
In a report released on Monday, public protector Thuli Madonsela found that IEC chairperson Pansy Tlakula played a "grossly irregular" role in procuring the Riverside Office Park building, in Centurion, for the IEC's head office.
Mncwango said the IEC was an organisation which had to lead by example, without incidents of mismanagement or maladministration tarnishing its image.
"How can South African voters be expected to accept and believe in the legitimacy of election results when the senior leadership of the IEC is embroiled in serious allegations of corruption?" he asked.
Suspension
​Mncwango called for an immediate forensic investigation into the entire leasing agreement and the suspension of Tlakula.
Tlakula rejected Madonsela's finding. "I do not accept as correct, the finding of the public protector that my participation in the evaluation process pertaining to the awarding of the tender … gave rise to a conflict of interest on my part," she said in a statement.
Madonsela recommended that Parliament considers taking action against Tlakula for her role in procuring the building.
She also found a conflict of interest involving Parliament's finance portfolio committee chairperson Thaba Mufamadi, who owns a 20% stake in Abland by virtue of its co-directorship in Lehotsa Investments, and with whom Tlakula is accused of being romantically involved.
Madonsela recommended that the IEC review its agreement with Abland, which was awarded the contract to lease the building. – Sapa