Africa-Press – Eswatini. The 16 voters who were turned back at Sigangeni during the primary elections have stated that they have been receiving threats from the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
According to a replying affidavit filed by the voters at the High Court, EBC has assumed a defensive approach in the matter yet it had an obligation to be fair and transparent to all citizens.
The voters stated that there was no denial in the papers before court that they never voted and that they were turned away at the polling station.
“In the absence of such denial, even a bare one, it follows that there is an admission that we were never given an opportunity to vote. The unfortunate response of the EBC has been to invoke the machinery of the State to intimidate us and to threaten us with arrest,” the voters submitted.
They said some of them who were called to be interviewed by the EBC were subjected to intimidation and threats and were rebuked by commission for having gone to seek legal advice and threatened with arrest.
“This is unfortunate given that we were promised free and fair elections,” the voters stated.
They alleged that the EBC, for some unfathomable reason, had assumed a defensive approach yet it had an obligation to be fair and transparent to all citizens.
In the court papers the voters said EBC allegedly fails to appreciate the simple point that the thrust of the complaint in the voters founding papers was not necessarily against EBC; but an individual who was present at the polls and who by his active conduct, which is common cause between the parties, prevented the applicants from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
The EBC, according to the voters, is by its very opposition to the application guilty of being complicit by abdicating its responsibility to ensure that all registered voters are given their constitutional right to vote and as a result is similarly complicit in the disenfranchisement of citizens, much against its very own statutory mandate.
The application before the High Court, according to the voters, is not per Section 18(1) (2) (3) of the EBC ACT 2013 but it is an application in terms of Section 85(1) and (3) read together with Section 35 (2)(a) and (b) of the Constitution of Eswatini.
“At this stage, Section 18 of the EBC Act is of no moment.
This lack of understanding of this simple and clear principle has resulted in the EBC conflating the nature of the relief sought as well as misdirecting themselves and they have, as an unfortunate result gone of tangent,” the voters submitted.
They said instances which demonstrate that there is a clear indication that there is no defence include; that EBC appears to be fixated by the fourth respondent.
It was submitted that EBC has, for some reason, mentioned the fourth respondent, perhaps in an effort to cloud issues and to create an unsavory atmosphere.
The matter before court, according to the application made by the voters, is not about the fourth Respondent, but it is about them as voters who were deprived the right to vote.
They submitted that whatever decision the EBC may have arrived at concerning the fourth respondent, it has no bearing on the applicants’ case. The applicants submitted that they were registered voters who hold cards and went through the due process managed by the very officers of the sixth respondent.
“At this stage, their right to vote at the inkhundla cannot be disputed and to do so would be tantamount to the EBC casting doubt upon its very own declaration to the entire nation that the electoral registration and validation process was successfully completed.”
The opposing affidavit, according to the voters, is fraught with hearsay which would be challenged. They claimed that there was a lot of information which was made up and was unsupported and unsubstantiated.
The EBC, according to the submission made, has responded by stating that it had investigated and interviewed some of the applicants but had failed to place the record of such interviews before court.
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