Electoral Commission has issued a warning against defacing and unlawfully removing election signs during this period of election campaigning. Since posters are put up to allow for open campaigning, the IEC claims that it is a serious offense that should be reported to the police.
A SECTION OF THE ADVOCATE
Some posters in the Western Cape have been taken down, while others have been destroyed. Michael Hendricks, the IEC electoral officer for the Western Cape, stated: “Political campaigning involves the use of posters, which is why our legislation makes it illegal for anyone to deface or remove a political party’s poster during this time. It also just goes against the environment that promotes political campaigning.
” Therefore, the IEC urges everyone to leave the posters up where they belong, including political parties.”
PRISON TERM FOR PROSECUTED PERSONS
Hendricks went on to say that it is not democratic to purposefully destroy posters. “It is a criminal offense according to our laws. Go to the police and report anything illegal that you witness someone doing. Hendricks continues, “I believe they are the ones with the power to look into it.
IEC Sy Mamabolo, the Chief Electoral Officer, has previously stated that removing the posters is contrary to electoral democracy because the parties incur significant expenses in printing them. Mamabolo states that a person faces five to ten years in prison if they are found guilty. A party may face legal action from the Electoral Court if they are found to have violated the election code by vandalizing the opposition’s posters. Next month, registered voters will cast ballots in both the national and provincial elections.
