MK Party insists 2024 polls were stolen from it, calls for parliamentary inquiry

The MK Party has called for a parliamentary inquiry into last year’s national and provincial elections, insisting the election was stolen from the party.

The main opposition on Thursday rejected a parliamentary report on the assessment of the 2024 elections, saying the Electoral Commission (IEC) could not audit its own shortcomings.

Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said it would be introducing legislation to increase voter registration, while ActionSA said it too had a bill in the pipeline to improve transparency and integrity in the electoral system.

While the MK Party has failed in its attempts in the Electoral Court to argue a case for alleged vote-rigging in last year’s elections, it’s now taking its battle to Parliament, arguing for independent scrutiny of electoral processes.

MP Mariam Muhammad said evidence of irregularity in last year’s elections was in plain sight.

"The role of private contractors in the tallying process. The mysterious disappearance of ballot boxes, and the unexplained software glitches that miraculously favoured the so-called GNU parties."

The EFF’s Mbali Dlamini blamed the IEC for low registration numbers and said her party’s bill would allow for the automatic registration of young people when they turn 18.

"The 58 percent voter turnout is the lowest since our democratic elections in 1994, and this highlights the failure of the IEC in getting more people to registered to vote."

ActionSA’s Lerato Ngobeni alleged that foreign forces were manipulating electoral outcomes through misinformation and distortion, and called for support for her party’s bill to strengthen the legal framework.