Political parties’ campaign posters are a common sight along the roads all over the country as the May 29 general election draws closer. File
The ANC in Tshwane has rejected claims that its members in Atteridgeville were caught removing EFF election campaign posters.
Regional party secretary George Matjila hit out at the EFF regional chairperson, Obakeng Ramabodu, for reportedly implicating that the two people arrested in connection with poster removal were ANC members.
In a media statement, Matjila slated Ramabodu for making “unfounded allegations in the media that two members of the ANC were apprehended by the EFF local structures in Atteridgeville removing EFF election posters”.
“We would like to state up front that the ANC is a signatory to the IEC Code of Conduct for political parties during this election and is bound by the code,” he said.
According to him, the ANC deploys members and volunteers, who in some instances are not party members, during election campaigns.
“In this case, we can confirm without a doubt that both apprehended individuals are not members of the ANC and/or volunteers of the ANC,” he said.
He said the party’s preliminary investigation found “that Correx boards are high in value within the waste management and waste buy-back recycling facility industry”.
It is believed that the two accused wanted to sell the posters at a buy-back centre.
Matjila said: “The ANC Greater Tshwane Region has also suffered a similar setback where its posters have been removed and sold to the buy-back centre, like other political parties.”
Ramabodu was contacted for comment but didn’t respond within time for publication.
The EFF has, however, recently released a media statement in which it condemned “the cowardly and undemocratic removal of EFF posters by detractors who seek to undermine our movement”.
The party said the two people were arrested by its members in the act of removing its posters, and they were handed over to the police.
A case was opened against the pair, and they were detained at a local police station.
“This despicable act is a clear attempt to stifle the voice of the people and suppress the message of the economic freedom and social justice that the EFF stands for. We will therefore spare no efforts in uncovering the culprits behind this attack on our democratic rights, which is not the first incident of this matter,” the EFF said in a media statement.
The EFF believed that “those cowardly acts are a testament to the fear instilled in our detractors by the growing influence of the EFF and the imminent threat we pose to their vested interest”.
RAPULA MOATSHE
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