IEC officers fired for fraudulent registering of voters in Limpopo

The IEC in Limpopo has fired two officers who were overseeing voter registration for ward 01 by-elections in the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality. This comes after allegations of fraud were leveled against them.

It is alleged that the fired officials collected identity documents from several people to fraudulently register them without the owners being present. 

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The matter was exposed by the EFF in Limpopo and reported to the IEC. IEC Provincial Electoral Officer in Limpopo Nkaro Mateta says the commission has since taken action against the culprits. 

“You can not just ask the registration officer to do these things on your behalf. You can not hand over seven IDs to the registration officer, you have to present yourself,” she said. 

“That is why we opened the voting stations so that we even take the statistics of the people that visited the voting station. Otherwise, you can do it yourself online.”

IEC LIMPOPO OFFICERS FIRED FOR FRADULENT ACTIVITIES

The IEC could not confirm which political party was involved in the fraudulent act. But the EFF in Limpopo is alleging that the fraud was committed in favour of the ANC.

EFF provincial chairperson Tshilidzi Maraga says a majority of IEC officials are conflicted and therefore they are not fit to play any administrative role in elections.

“There are rogue and rotten potatoes that cannot separate politics. It is only through the intervention of the EFF that the implicated officials were dismissed. Our suspension is that the tempering and manipulation of registration could be widespread. Especially with the SADTU members involved,” she said.