The former South African president Jacob Zuma, leading a rival political group, has issued a legal warning to obstruct the formulation of the new South African government. The party purports that its allegations of electoral fraud haven’t been satisfactorily investigated by authorities.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party representative, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, made the allegations on Monday in an interview, claiming votes were wrongly attributed to a different party after the computerised vote-tallying system experienced a failure on Friday. Their party thus lost its chance to become the official opposition party.
Ndhlela also voiced concerns about actual foreign manipulation in the national election held on May 29. He stated that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) didn’t seriously consider their allegations of vote-rigging, despite them providing corresponding evidence.
“We are considering alternative courses of action on how to interfere. One possibility could be legally interfering with all tiers of government being sworn-in. Another option could be refraining from attending the inauguration of the National Assembly… which means a president could not be elected,” said Ndhlela to Newzroom Afrika.
The IEC released the general election results on Sunday. The newly established MK party managed to secure 14.58 per cent of the votes, coming third in the country’s largest parties. The Democratic Alliance came second with a 21.81 per cent share and the African National Congress (ANC) took the lead with a 40.18 per cent vote share, meaning it will need to form an alliance with at least one opposition party to retain power.
The IEC’s refusal to delay the election results until the party’s ten complaints had been comprehensively investigated prompted Ndhlela’s threats. This came after Zuma’s warning on Saturday.
Before Zuma’s public declaration, the MK party had already sought an election rerun on the grounds of voter fraud. More than a dozen minor political parties have also registered grievances regarding the election results. However, the IEC declared the election unbiased and legitimate on Sunday.
South Africa’s electoral court also received an urgent lawsuit against the IEC from the MK party’s founder, Jabulani Khumalo on Monday. Khumalo alleges that the IEC acted beyond its legal powers when it declared Mr Zuma as the president of the new political entity.
Mr Khmalo, who was ousted from the MK party earlier this year, claims that a document bearing his forged signature was presented to the IEC by Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla. He alleges that this document was intended to falsely suggest that he was resigning and that Mr Zuma, her father, was to fill his post.
In addition, South Africa’s political entities have kick-started initial coalition negotiations, following the ANC’s inability to clinch an absolute majority in the national election. On the announcement of the election outcome, the parties have a two-week window to form a government.