IEC chairperson Pansy Tlakula.
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Pansy Tlakula believes public protector Thuli Madonsela "erred" in her finding about the procurement of the electoral commission's headquarters in Centurion. "I strongly believe she has erred in some respects," Tlakula told a New Age meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday.
"I have challenged those findings in a court of law and am waiting for the outcome." She said Madonsela's finding had "in some respects" affected the IEC, but not its work.
"I hope we have put this behind us … Let's wait for the court to rule on that matter." She declined to answer further questions about it.
Last year, Madonsela found Tlakula's role in concluding a R320-million lease contract for a new head office for the Independent Electoral Commission was improper and constituted maladministration.
In a 55-page response to the finding, Tlakula claimed that Madonsela did not have the power to investigate the allegations of maladministration, or to refer the matter to the Speaker of the National Assembly, as she had, or to the president.
At the time, Tlakula said neither the legislature nor the president had any authority to deal with the conduct of the chief electoral commissioner, which was the position she held at the time the contract was signed. – Sapa