The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has filed a lawsuit with the electoral court, disputing the results of the recent May elections and demanding a rerun.
This move is similar to that of the uMkhonto weSizwe party, which has questioned the election outcome and accused of vote-rigging.
However, experts say it is too late, and even if it were considered, the cost would be prohibitively high.
According to political analyst Arthur Shopola, opposition groups like Ace Magashule’s ACT, which share former President Jacob Zuma’s views on vote manipulation, are unlikely to call for a repeat.
“But you must remember that Zuma thought he was going to get two-thirds, which obviously included an outright win in KZN. He’s probably angry that he couldn’t get to the level despite good performance in many parts of the country.“If there is [a re-vote], the IEC will need another 90 days to prepare and must allocate another budget as well. It will be costly, but it will also greatly impact the IEC. I suspect that MKP will ask the current IEC leadership to step down if their request is granted.
According to Mail & Guardian, ATM leader Vuyo Zungula stated in the party’s formation affidavit that the ATM was “victim of miscalculations, vote rigging, and voter corruption.”
Zungula said that many ATM supporters were unable to vote because their names did not appear on voting rolls in the relevant districts, despite being registered.
“It was surprising and shocking for ATM to learn that most of its voters could not vote, in a manner that deprived them of their right to vote, the reason was their non-appearance on the voters’ roll, despite being registered.”
The speaker expressed dissatisfaction that the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) did not remedy the issue that arose during the 2019 general elections.
Zungula contended that these and other irregularities demonstrated that the IEC was unable to conduct free and fair elections.
Social media responses represent a variety of perspectives on the ATM’s difficulty. One user, @DecideDied, disputed the MK Party’s complaints, saying:
“The MK Party lost; they need to build a bridge and get over it; their tribalism cost them everything.”
Another user, @JSThumela, supported the challenge, stating:
“Good leaders who know the pain of waking up early and queuing in long voting lines, only for your efforts to be stolen by people who are supposed to protect them.”
@Vincent62343509 drew a parallel with the American electoral system, saying:
“Election results were challenged during the American elections – Bush versus Gore. Why was this acceptable for the USA, but in RSA it’s being considered treason?”
Conversely, @cutahman expressed scepticism about the ATM’s prospects in a rerun, commenting:
“With a rerun, I think you would perform worse because with only a few days just cast our votes, you have shown your voters that you care nothing for them. If you can be a minister, what would be your priority in that ministerial post, Zungula?”
