Cape Town - Political parties have raised concerns and condemned acts of vandalism and theft of targeting their posters on lampposts ahead of the May 29 provincial elections, calling on the Independent Electoral Commission of SA to intervene.
The DA in the Western Cape said it has suffered tremendous losses across the province and had to spend an enormous amount of time and money on maintenance.
“We were one of the first parties to put up posters during the registration weekends as well as during the campaign itself, and it's clear that maintenance work increases after other party posters have gone up. We would appreciate any help from the public who can give proof of vandalism; it is against the law to remove and vandalise posters,” said Jaco Londt, the party's provincial chairperson.
The GOOD Party also said it was one of the first to put up posters, and they have seen them removed, damaged, or pushed down the poles.
“We are gathering evidence from witnesses who have said they've seen this being done, which means it's intentional, and we will follow the legal process against those parties who clearly don't respect democracy or the property of others,” said GOOD secretary Brett Herron.
The EFF said it has come to their urgent attention “that there are people in ward 75 in the Cape metro region who allow themselves to be used by the political enemies of the revolution removing EFF election posters with an intention to dissuade potential voters from voting for the party.
“As a party, we are not surprised by these counter=revolutionary actions instigated by those who declared us their enemy unprovoked, for we know for sure that the majority of the residents of the Western Cape will vote for the EFF to bring about real change. and empowerment for the poor and working class,” said Unathi Ntame, EFF provincial chairperson.
“We have always been there when our people needed us to fight for them in the workplace, universities, schools, and society in general. The despicable act of removing an EFF poster is tantamount to undermining the aspirations of the residents of the province, whose lives will be fundamentally changed for the better once the EFF takes over government after May 29, 2024.”
Ntame said the EFF is calling on the residents of the Western Cape not to give in to the temptation planted by those who do not want to see real change for the poor and working class.
“And we ask them (residents) to report any act of vandalism committed against our property to law enforcement, as it is a punishable offence to deface and remove another party’s property.”
The ANC's provincial spokesperson, Khalid Sayed, said although his party has not experienced this matter as they haven’t put up posters yet, they are extremely concerned about the vandalism of political posters.
“The African National Congress has not experienced this so far because our posters are not yet up. The posters will be up very soon. So we have not experienced this, but we are extremely concerned that political party posters are being vandalised, and it is completely unacceptable,” said Sayed.
He said this is not in line with the electoral code of conduct, and whoever is vandalising these posters, political parties must know that what they are doing is not in line with the spirit of democracy.
“It's not in line with the spirit of free and fair elections. They must stop immediately, and we call upon the authorities and the IEC to clamp down very hard in this regard, regardless of which political parties' posters are being vandalised. It's to have an equal opportunity to campaign and to put their posters out there, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with the political perspective,” said Sayed.
Michael Hendrickse from the IEC said, in terms of the law (Electoral Act), removing, destroying, or defacing political party posters is a crime.
“Thus, it is a prosecutorial matter for law enforcement authorities to deal with. The correct procedure is to report it to the appropriate authority—the SAPS—for recourse. If there is a case to be made, police will refer the matter to the NPA,” said Hendrickse.