A probe is likely to be instituted by the DA’s federal legal commission after a staffer allegedly failed to ensure that the party’s name gets printed on the ballot paper of a hotly-contested by-election in Cape Town.
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It is believed that the staff member was on leave, earlier this month, when they were meant to submit the names of candidates for Cape Town’s ward 56 by-election.
“The provincial leadership is blaming the federal leadership,” an insider told the Weekend Argus. “Apparently, the staff member that usually does this was on leave. Not handing over something this important is concerning. The matter (will be) referred to the FLC for investigation.”
Chairperson of the FLC, Glynnis Breytenbach, added that the matter was currently on the table of the party’s tagging committee.
“The matter is not yet with the FLC. I expect it will be. It has been referred to the tagging committee for consideration,” she said.
“Due to Christmas holidays, there has been a delay in referral. It can only be referred for an investigation and advice on how to improve the process to avoid a repeat. The FLC has no disciplinary jurisdiction over staff members, only public representatives.”
Last month, the DA announced that Helen Jacobs had ended her term as ward councillor after she announced her resignation, citing personal reasons
Speaking to the Weekend Argus, a member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature (MPL), Christopher Fry, said that all the by-elections in February have nomination closure dates in January, but this one was the only one to close in December, and our processes could not be completed in time. “We will communicate more detail to everyone in the ward early in January.”
He added that he was not sure of the recourse and was waiting on the party to apply its mind.
Metro regional chair Dan Plato said: “Historically, candidate nominations had to be submitted to the IEC approximately 23 days before election day. In this case, it was 51 days – this is not the norm and created much confusion.
“This deviation to the standard timeline for the submission of candidates to the IEC resulted in the party failing to submit a candidate. The DA is currently exploring all possible options to resolve the matter.”
Another source said that one could not help to think that the DA deliberately missed the deadline.
“In 2016, the DA had won 83.71% of the vote in ward 56 of Cape Town, including PR ballots. In 2021, this figure was reduced to just under 48% of the ward votes. The DA is an extremely committed party who would never make such a silly, thoughtless mistake in the City they control with a clear majority,” said the informant.
“The DA’s excuse of failing to comprehend a simple IEC timetable is hogwash. (It) stood a good chance to lose the ward and would not be able to bear the embarrassment that comes with such a loss.“
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Picture: Cape{town}Etc Library