Why the IEC dismissed a Hammarsdale presiding officer
DURBAN — The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) dismissed a Hammarsdale presiding officer after party agents spotted an ANC-branded car she had arranged to carry election material on Monday, the first day of special voting. KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said an area manager intervened before the car left with the material and took charge of it. An IEC investigation established that the officer owned the vehicle and that her son was driving.
Announcing the dismissal in Durban on Tuesday, Masinga said election officials had a duty to remain visibly impartial while handling voting material. She confirmed that the car displayed ANC colours and said the commission did not know how it came to carry the branding. The IEC would not pursue the matter with the party, she said, because the presiding officer was responsible for choosing a suitable vehicle.
Who can transport election material?
Masinga said the IEC asks prospective presiding officers whether they own a vehicle or have access to one for election duties. After special voting ends for the day, sensitive items such as ballot papers, security stamps, ink and voters’ rolls must go back to an IEC satellite warehouse. Voting booths and signage can remain at the station overnight.
Police escort is the preferred arrangement, Masinga said, but officers are not always available when staff have finished reconciling the ballots and are ready to leave. At stations assessed as low or medium risk, the IEC allows authorised staff to transport the material in those circumstances. In Hammarsdale, it was the party branding on the chosen vehicle that prompted the dismissal. The commission said it considered the matter closed.
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