Johnathan Paoli
THE Democratic Alliance (DA) has filed an application at the Electoral Court against President Cyril Ramaphosa, following his national address on Sunday where they are accusing him of using the SABC to canvas for votes ahead of the 29 May National General Elections.
DA federal chairperson Helen Zille submitted a founding affidavit on Tuesday and said President Ramaphosa had incriminated himself by breaching the Electoral Act and Electoral Code of Conduct for using a televised address in a state broadcast to the nation to outline the achievement of his administration.
“The address was nothing more than a thinly veiled stump speech. He sought to use his position as head of state and head of the government to encourage the public to vote for the ANC,” Zille said.
The DA has alleged that the content of the national address was a reiteration of an address Ramaphosa gave at the closing rally of the ANC’s election campaign on Saturday.
The DA maintains this was a breach of section 9(2)(e) of the act, which prohibits the abuse of positions of power to influence the outcome of the elections and section 87(1)(g) which prohibits the abuse of public funds for campaign purposes.
The party asked the court to impose a fine of R200 000 to be paid by the President personally, as well as a reduction of 1% of the total votes cast for the ANC.
In addition, the DA said the address was a breach of regulation 5 of the Independent Communication Authority which determines the amount of time afforded to each party for political election broadcasts.
The DA’s announcement comes after the MK party also made its intentions known to similarly file papers with the Electoral Court over the alleged violation of the Electoral Act.
“Given the massive legal team around him, it is our contention that Ramaphosa has knowingly misused his presidential office to deploy state resources in a manner that unfairly benefits his corrupt and desperate political party,” it said.
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