Cape Town - The Western High Court on Wednesday postponed an application by GOOD party leader Patricia de Lille for an interdict against the Democratic Alliance (DA) to Friday - in a bid to compel the party to stop telling voters she was fired as Cape Town mayor last year.
The application by GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron, supplemented by a confirmatory affidavit by De Lille, came after the DA had “defied” an order by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC).
The IEC ordered the DA to apologise to its former member, setting a deadline of three days for the party to do so publicly, for telling potential voters during telecanvassing ahead of the May 8 elections that De Lille was fired from her position as Cape Town mayor.
De Lille resigned from her position last year following a protracted legal battle with the DA.
Good party leader Patricia de Lille, with GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron for an interdict against the Democratic Alliance. Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency.
The DA said it would not apologise as it believed the IEC overstepped and that only a court could order it to apologise. The DA has applied
to the Electoral Court to review the IEC's ruling.
"That review application seeks to continue their malicious lies against me and I will not stand for it," De Lille previously said in a statement.
"The DA have a right to apply to review the IEC decision but they do not have the right to continue to make false statements about me.
"My lawyers have requested the DA to give me an undertaking to stop using their false script, saying that they “fired me”, at least until a court has determined the finding of the IEC.
"The DA have unreasonably refused to do so and this forces me to approach the courts, once again," she said.
The DA’s liaison representative at the IEC, Mike Moriarty previously said: “We view this as yet more publicity-seeking from a person whose flailing election campaign has nothing to offer, other than repeated attacks on the DA.
"We will not stoop to her level. The simple fact of the matter was that Patricia de Lille was in effect fired from the DA, by having three successful motions of (no) confidence against her by her own caucus.”
The matter adjourned until Friday at 10am.