The MK Party is unhappy with the IEC after the poll body blocked edits to its candidate lists in South Africa. Jacob Zuma's party had asked for fixes to ward slots, missing names, and entries for people who had died. With local polls on the way, the row has put fresh strain on their ties.
At the heart of it, the ANC got a court order that let it fix some nominations. The IEC says that order only covered names that parties had put into its web portal on time. It did not give all parties a fresh chance to submit or change their picks.
And the MK Party wants to see the logic behind that call. It has asked for a written reply that spells out why each of its edits failed. It also wants the IEC to show how its requests differ from the ANC's court-approved fixes.
Mahlangu has brought up past issues as well. One was a glitch in the IEC's results dashboard during the last national vote. Another was a data leak in which the poll body had admitted that someone had shared private candidate lists from both the ANC and MK Party without approval.
Then came the claims tied to Janet Love. Opposition figures from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have accused her of backing a voter roll they allege was fake. Those claims remain allegations, not proof of any misconduct.
Former IEC deputy chair Nomsa Masuku also came up in Mahlangu's remarks. She faces theft, fraud, and money-laundering charges tied to R1.2 million from her past role at Standard Bank. The case does not, by itself, prove she broke the law.
For the MK Party, all these issues feed its lack of trust in the IEC. Mahlangu argues that the commission must be open about its choices and answer for how it runs the vote. Yet the row over candidate edits remains a dispute about what the nomination rules permit.
At the heart of it, the ANC got a court order that let it fix some nominations. The IEC says that order only covered names that parties had put into its web portal on time. It did not give all parties a fresh chance to submit or change their picks.
And the MK Party wants to see the logic behind that call. It has asked for a written reply that spells out why each of its edits failed. It also wants the IEC to show how its requests differ from the ANC's court-approved fixes.
Mahlangu has brought up past issues as well. One was a glitch in the IEC's results dashboard during the last national vote. Another was a data leak in which the poll body had admitted that someone had shared private candidate lists from both the ANC and MK Party without approval.
Then came the claims tied to Janet Love. Opposition figures from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have accused her of backing a voter roll they allege was fake. Those claims remain allegations, not proof of any misconduct.
Former IEC deputy chair Nomsa Masuku also came up in Mahlangu's remarks. She faces theft, fraud, and money-laundering charges tied to R1.2 million from her past role at Standard Bank. The case does not, by itself, prove she broke the law.
For the MK Party, all these issues feed its lack of trust in the IEC. Mahlangu argues that the commission must be open about its choices and answer for how it runs the vote. Yet the row over candidate edits remains a dispute about what the nomination rules permit.
