National
Tlakula: Multi-party forum files concourt papers─── 05:32 Fri, 25 Jul 2014
Pretoria - Political parties have filed answering papers in the Constitutional Court in reply to the appeal by Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) chairperson Pansy Tlakula, the Multi-party Forum said on Thursday.
"We confirm that we yesterday [Wednesday] received court papers as submitted with the Constitutional Court," United Democratic Movement leader and forum chairman Bantu Holomisa said.
"We have filed our answering papers."
Tlakula has filed an application in the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal the Electoral Court's ruling that her misconduct in 2009 warrants her removal from office.
In the papers filed, Tlakula claims the Electoral Court erred in its finding and that its procedures were unfair.
Before the May 7 elections this year several opposition parties approached the Electoral Court seeking Tlakula's resignation.
This followed a finding by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, and a subsequent forensic investigation by Treasury, over the procurement of the IEC's Riverside Office Park building in Centurion.
Tlakula was chief electoral officer at the time.
Madonsela found Tlakula had a relationship, possibly of a romantic nature, with then chairman of Parliament's finance portfolio committee, Thaba Mufamadi.
Mufamadi was a shareholder in Abland, which was awarded the R320 million contract to lease the building.
The Treasury probe found the procurement process was neither fair, transparent, nor cost-effective.
Holomisa said the forum would be guided by the Constitutional Court and the matter would reach a conclusion soon.
However, Holomisa urged the IEC to deal decisively with the other recommendations of the public protector's report.
This included disciplinary processes against all staff members fingered in Madonsela's report.
Holomisa said the commission's indecisiveness, regarding the implementation of the protector's findings and recommendations, made the parties doubt the commission's commitment to ethics of good governance.
Sapa
