DURBAN, South Africa – South Africa’s opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, which is backed by former President Jacob Zuma, has called for the “immediate resignation” of a top official at South Africa’s electoral commission (IEC).
MK says IEC commissioner Janet Love is “highly vested in the outcomes of the upcoming elections and cannot be trusted to oversee nor be involved” in the polls due to her previous membership of the governing ANC party and alleged close ties with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
It accuses her of “blatant acts of bias”, including failing to recuse herself from the electoral committee that decided on Zuma’s eligibility, “despite the clear conflict of interest”.
“Should Janet Love fail to resign in the next seven days, the MK party reserves the right to pursue all available avenues to address this issue, including approaching our courts,” the party said in a statement on Friday.
The party’s call for Love’s resignation comes just hours after the IEC moved to the Constitutional Court to challenge this week’s ruling which overturned a ban on Zuma’s candidacy, allowing him to contest the forthcoming election.
Love was a member of the ANC from the 1970s, when she was part of the anti-apartheid movement, and went on to become an MP representing the party. She has previously denied accusations of bias.
President Ramaphosa appointed her as one of the IEC’s five commissioners last October.
