By Sue Maclennan
Makana Independent New Deal (MIND) Makana has laid a charge of fraud at the Grahamstown Police Station after 27 votes cast for its candidate in Salem, Ward 13, allegedly went missing. The grouping of independent candidates is also challenging authorities to reinstate the missing 28th seat in the Makana Council.
Candidate Andrew Kirk said a MIND party agent had WhatsApped him results for the Salem Land Claim voting district soon after the ward and Council PR counting was completed: Kirk had attracted 27 ward votes and 15 Council PR votes.
The next count was for the District PR votes which MIND wasn’t contesting.
“Our agent wasn’t aware he had to stay until all the counting was complete and left, thinking their role was finished,” Kirk said.
But the results issued by the IEC shortly after midday on Wednesday reflected only the PR votes. The ward vote showed zero.
Coordinator Jock McConnachie has lodged a formal objection to the result.
“The basis of the objection is that the number of ward votes for MIND as declared (0) does not accord with the number of votes recorded at the count and as noted by MIND’s party agent and other party agents (27) but which result was not formally signed off due to an oversight/irregularity by the IEC official in charge and which has led to the declaration of an incorrect result in respect of the votes registered for MIND,” McConnachie wrote in a letter dated 3 November 2021. The letter was addressed to the Municipal Electoral Office via Municipal Manager Moppo Mene and Electoral Project Coordinator Vuyo Ponoshe.
McConnachie has also called for the reinstatement of a Council seat that went missing after the 2011 local government elections.
Won by an earlier iteration of MIND, the seat was occupied by a councillor who then crossed the floor to the ANC. When the party dissolved itself, the municipal manager at the time failed to declare a vacancy and so the 27-seat status quo has remained.
Now, McConnachie says the 2021 MIND grouping would have a ward seat (Ward 13) if the votes at Salem had been correctly recorded and the 28th seat had been reinstated.
“MIND objects to the allocation of only 27 seats (14 ward + 13 PR) on the Makana Local Council whereas the correct allocation should be 28 seats (14 ward + 14 PR) and MIND believes that if the votes cast for MIND at the Salem Land Club Voting District 10330052 are correctly calculated and declared and if the correct number of 28 seats is allocated on the Makana Local Council, it will result in the additional seat being allocated to MIND.”
Police confirmed that a case had been opened at the Grahamstown Police Station.
“The SAPS can confirm that a case of fraud was opened on Wednesday, 3 November 2021, after the allegation of vote rigging at the Salem voting district in Makana,” national spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said. “At this stage, there have been no arrests and the investigation is continuing.”
The IEC’s Eastern Cape spokesperson Julie Stanworth said she would be able to respond to the query on Monday.
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