Johnathan Paoli
THE DA returned to the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Thursday to resume a case it opened in May against President Cyril Ramaphosa for allegedly violating the Electoral Code of Conduct when he did a television broadcast that the party claimed was a political advertisement.
DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp said despite being a member of the government of national unity, his party would not drop the case.
“Being in a GNU with the ANC does not mean we all of sudden stop defending the Constitution. It means we even have a greater duty to do so,” Aucamp said.
The matter is currently underway at the Johannesburg High Court.
In its founding affidavit, the party said Ramaphosa’s speech violated two sections of the Electoral Act, which deal with members using positions of power to unduly influence elections and abusing state resources for the purposes of a political campaign.
The party is demanding the Electoral Court officially declare Ramaphosa’s speech a violation of the Electoral Act, a reduction of the votes received by the ANC by 1%, a R200 000 fine to be paid by the President in his personal capacity, and a R100 000 fine to be paid by the ANC.
DA leader John Steenhuisen previously rebuked Ramaphosa and said as President he should have known better and must be held to account.
“Ramaphosa’s manipulation was cynical, calculated, and designed to influence the outcome of the election by providing the ANC with unearned airtime that was not made available to any other party contesting the election,” Steenhuisen said.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya had denied the allegations, saying it was protocol for the sitting President to address the nation towards the end of his political term.
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