Post election unease persists in Alexandra
ALEXANDRA - Post election tensions in Alexandra continued into early this week even after most losing political parties accepted the election results.
Post election tensions in Alexandra continued into early this week even after most losing political parties accepted the election results.
This followed scenes of arson, arrests and street battles on the night of 9 May by disgruntled members of the EFF, DA and IFP. The police and the military were called in to quell the violence and maintained a presence into this week to prevent any possible flare ups.
The tensions were caused by alleged irregularities in voting and counting processes. Two such incidents were the discovery of empty ballot boxes when counting was still in progress, and a sighting of ballot boxes in a police vehicle at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) sub-station premises where the ANC also has its office.
Despite the complaints being lodged with the IEC, suppressing the tensions would be a test of the leadership of the aggrieved parties. In a televised interview and some newspaper articles, EFF leader Julius Malema acknowledged the complaints and confirmed they had been submitted to the IEC. He urged his members to accept the results in the interest of peace and progress in the country.
Presumably he did so after his party did surprisingly well in the election having come overall third in the polls. With 22 parliamentary seats, Malema has pledged to change the character of the legislature as a ‘workplace’. To this end his members will attend sessions dressed in their trademark red berets and overalls. Hopefully this will add colour to the gloomy image of parliament. Also, he insists his members will inject quality input to sterile debates. This may well help his party remain longer in parliament than Mosioua Lekota’s Cope party and sadly the Pan African Congress, which though completely vanquished now still have bragging rights to be liberators such as the ANC.
More than 100 people were arrested and 59 members of political parties charged with cases of public violence following national and provincial elections last week were granted bail of R300 or R500 by the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court yesterday afternoon. According to a DA official who paid bail for his party’s two arrested members, the cases have been postponed to 26 June and transferred to the Randburg Magistrate’s Court for space and security reasons. He said the situation in court was calm and the area seemed to be returning to normal.
Click here to see how the drama unfolded in Alexandra.
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Justified.
While I can understand why some parties were angry – violence should never be the answer.
I think these guys are completely justified! There are too many questions surrounding these elections and Alex has always been a contentious area. The ANC needs to wake up and smell the coffee!