ATM’s bid to set aside elections dismissed by Electoral Court

The court said the main difficulty with the ATM’s case was that the application consisted almost exclusively of a sweeping, vague and general allegations, none of which were supported by evidence.

“The unsubstantiated averments, which litter the founding papers of the ATM, are nothing more than mere assertions and expressions based on unfounded suspicions, and more often than not based on inadmissible hearsay,” Adams said. 

Adams said ATM leader Vuyo Zungula bizarrely attempted to justify the lack of evidence by stating in his founding affidavit that he “need not burden the court with voluminous papers” as evidence for his claims.

“This is patently wrong. The ATM’s claims must be proved with evidence.” 

The court said the ATM’s complaints about the voters’ roll cannot be sustained as the party did not serve any notice of objection to the provisional voters’ roll under the Electoral Act. It said this ought to have been raised with and decided on by the IEC during March 2024. 

“The ATM collected the certified voters’ roll on April 24 2024. No explanation is given for its delay in raising objections to the certified voters’ roll at this late stage.” 

Regarding allegations of discrepancies with ballot boxes, the IEC contended the ATM’s allegations were entirely vague, unspecific and unsubstantiated.

The IEC stated there were complaints about ballot boxes not being sealed properly or being tampered with during the elections. 

“However, the commission investigated and responded to all the complaints it received. If any of the objecting parties or other parties involved in the objection felt aggrieved by the commission’s decision, it was open to them to appeal in terms of the Electoral Act,” Adams said. 

The court said the ATM failed to prove any of the irregularities it complained about.

“Moreover, it has not demonstrated, far from it, that the irregularities are material such that it had an effect on the determination of the final results of the elections.”

Adams said the application by the ATM consisted of “sweeping and vague” allegations against the IEC, including of electoral fraud, vote rigging and political bias.

“The allegations are unsubstantiated and not supported by evidence. Instead, the application is based on mere assertion, suspicion and hearsay.” 

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