IEC calls for probe into alleged forgery of signatures by MK party

With a month until South Africans hit the polls, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has urged police to expedite their investigation into claims that former president Jacob Zuma’s Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party allegedly forged the signatures it submitted to the commission.

The MK party has been marred by allegations of fraud and a leadership purge following claims of fraud by Lennox Ntsodo, a former senior official of the party.

Forging signatures

According to the City Press, Ntsodo alleged that the MK party forged signatures to secure its registration for the 2024 ballot.

He claimed the party also allegedly fraudulently obtained names, identity numbers and cellphone numbers of jobseekers from a database of the Cape metro council.

Ntsodo alleged in his statement that he and the rest of the team had worked for about two weeks at the house of MK party secretary-general in the Western Cape Faizel Moosa in Pinelands, Cape Town, compiling the forged lists. Moosa is South Africa’s former ambassador to Qatar.

Ntsodo claimed he had reported the team’s daily progress to Moosa and Fumanekile “Fatty” Booi, the Western Cape chairperson of the party.

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Moosa and Booi have both denied the allegations.

Crime investigation

IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said they had noted media enquiries and reports alleging the party submitted fraudulent signatures in fulfilment of the candidate nomination requirements, and that a criminal complaint has been laid with police.

“The commission calls on crime investigation authorities to expedite the investigations to establish the verity of the allegations. An expeditious investigation is essential for the conduct of free and fair elections.

“The commission confirms the signature portal of the candidate nomination system verified whether the identity numbers submitted were of registered citizens of the republic. In other words, this entailed establishing whether the person is a citizen, alive and registered on the voters’ roll,” Bapela said.

Debated in Parliament

Bapela said the signature issue was debated in Parliament.

“The commission had indicated in the parliamentary process during debates on the institutionalisation of the signature requirement that it would be impossible to establish whether the signatures proffered were indeed of those persons who purport to have given them.”

According to the law, political parties must obtain and submit signatures of members and supporters to register for the 2024 polls and appear on the ballot.

The Citizen has contacted the MK party for comment. This will be added into the article once received.

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