IEC to act on 'excitable' KZN candidates' infringements

DURBAN DJ Mbuso “DJ Sox” Sokhela and Umhlathuze mayoral candidate Mduduzi Mhlongo face hefty fines from the IEC after posting their ballot papers on social media.

The act is prohibited by the IEC and infringers, if found guilty, face a year behind bars or an undetermined fine.

Sokhela caused a stir when he posted a photo of his secret ballot after voting in uMhlanga. The ballot had an “X” next to the candidate's name. The post was captioned #Asinavalo “we are unshaken/confident” and a clenched fist emoji. Pictures of a beaming Mhlongo holding his marked ballots also made rounds on social media.

Mhlongo’s pictures were quickly deleted. Sokhela’s was deleted more than four hours after it was posted. He claimed he had no idea who posted the picture but would “investigate”. This was hours after his followers warned him that his conduct was illegal and urged him to remove the post.

KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Mawethu Mosery has repeatedly cautioned against this illegal conduct, saying perpetrators would be charged for breaching provisions of the Electoral Act.

Referring to Sokhela, he said: “He's creating problems for himself because we now have to call him to order. We have to enlighten him. I haven't seen the post but he is not allowed to do that.”

Sokhela said: “I started getting a lot of calls from close friends, alerting me of an illegal picture posted on one of my social media platforms. I then went to Facebook but I didn't see anything; I went to Twitter, I didn't see anything – only saw the post when I checked my Instagram account. I quickly deleted the post.”

He said he was “investigating” how the picture was posted.

“Yes, I do have a new phone which I started using today. I don't know, maybe I'm still struggling with using it. I didn't post the photo,” he said.

He confirmed that he cast his special vote in the eThekwini’s ward 35 (Durban North/Umhlanga).

Mhlongo’s ANC Musa Dladla region apologised “unreservedly” to the IEC, blaming the blunder on “the excitement of voting for the ANC”.

“People have been (waiting) long and the time has come and the excitement is uncontrollable. Mhlongo is a leader of the movement and his vote is no secret,” the region's spokesperson said.

The region also urged the IEC to “further educate voters on its new rules”.

sihle.manda@inl.co.za

@Sihle_MG