Two Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members have died and others have been injured while carrying out election work for the party amid sustained attacks and disruptions of meetings held around the country.
The party is now calling for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to ban the ANC – which is allegedly behind the attacks – from participating in elections in the regions where violence has broken out.
“They must ban the ANC from participating in elections in regions where it is violent, in particular where the ANC leadership is on record saying that they will disrupt our meetings. No one who declares no-go areas, who organises violence in the way they did in Mbombela should be allowed to be on the ballot. The organisation must know that it ought to be peaceful, or it forfeits the chance to stand for elections,” EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi told City Press this week.
The IEC has confirmed that the EFF had lodged a formal complaint with it regarding the continued disruptions of the party’s election campaign.
Party leader Julius Malema has been travelling around the country to speak at a series of community meetings ahead of August’s elections.
Many of the meetings have been disrupted by people wearing ANC regalia either barricading entrances with burning tyres or throwing objects such as stones.
“Two of our members have died in Tembisa. One died three days ago after spending weeks in ICU. One was stabbed yesterday in Harrismith, one was shot in Polokwane Taxi Rank three days ago. That is just this week,” Ndlozi said.
The IEC said its interventions generally come in the form of facilitating dialogue between parties. It said that the events outlined by the EFF were a concern, along with violence in other parts of the country.
“We work closely with the security cluster on solutions to defuse violence in the run-up to and during the election period,” IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said.
But the EFF wants more than a facilitated dialogue to deal with the disruptions.
“The IEC has the power to suspend people and organisations from standing for elections if they violate the electoral code of conduct. Working with the police and the community, they can, as a commission, hold an investigation. They ought to hold a party accountable, in particular because the ANC in those regions is not condemning or distancing itself from the actions of its members,” Ndlozi said.