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Picture Courtesy: (Thabi Shomolekae) The DA has asks IEC to reduce the votes of the ANC by 1%, claiming that Ramaphosa abused his presidential authority by campaigning for the ANC while addressing the nation.
(The Post News)- The Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa, of abusing his authority and public funds to campaign for the African National Congress (ANC).
Papers asking the Electoral Court to reduce the votes of the ANC by one percent have been filed by the DA.
This follows Ramaphosa’s speech to the nation on Sunday night ahead of the upcoming elections on May 29.
According to the leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen, by misusing the nation’s highest office to openly campaign for the ANC while addressing the nation, Ramaphosa broke the Electoral Code of Conduct.
He claimed that what Ramaphosa did was manipulation, and it was cynical, deliberate, and intended to influence election results. I
He added that, unlike any other party running in the elections, the ANC was afforded an unearned opportunity to campaign.
Steenhuisen stressed that, as the president of the country, Ramaphosa ought to have had better judgment of his actions, and he needs to be held accountable. He also said that Ramaphosa has put the ANC before South Africa more than once.
Quoting the Electoral Act, Steenhuisen said that no one has the right or power to use their position or influence to interfere with the conduct or results of an election.
The emphasisea was that by breaking the rules of the Electoral Act, Ramaphosa has clearly proved that the ANC was willing to go against the nation’s constitutional democracy to hold on to power.
Steenhuisen questioned what Ramaphosa might be willing to do to further bend the rules to keep the ANC in power after being voted out, given that he has already misused his position for petty political advantage.
Meanwhile, the Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) Party is in agreement with the DA that Ramaphosa misused his position to benefit the ANC.
According to the MK Party, the ANC is corrupt and desperate, and Ramaphosa purposely abused his power as the president of the country by using the resources of the country to benefit the ANC in a manner that is not in accordance with principles of equality and justice.
The MK party urged that it is impossible to overstate the “desperation and gravity” of Ramaphosa’s actions.
The MK Party has also filed papers against Ramaphosa with the Electoral Court and stated that it requests the Electoral Court to terminate the ANC’s political party registration and file criminal charges against Ramaphosa.
The MK Party added that the consequences of the charges against Ramaphosa should be sufficient to indicate the seriousness of the violation and possibly include jail time.
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