MEDIA STATEMENT
BY THE
INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY
IEC to Blame for Burning-Down of University
|
Inkatha Freedom Party blames the KwaZulu-Natal Independent Electoral Commission for the burning down of the University of Zululand on Tuesday. The university was burnt down by a mob of students following the proposal by the management for the formation of an interim multi-party structure that would run the affairs of students after the impasse around SRC elections; which was rejected by the ANC-aligned SASCO. The Provincial Secretary of the IFP, Dr Bonginkosi Buthelezi said: "First we wish to register our total abhorrence of the vandalism displayed by the students who burnt down parts of the University of Zululand on Tuesday. This shows that, as a country, we have no future when such barbaric acts could be done in an institution supposed to be the training ground for future leaders. "However, our view is that the KwaZulu-Natal IEC must shoulder part of the blame for this shameful act. Because, after the IEC decided to debar SADESMO from contesting the SRC elections on the grounds that SADESMO had submitted their candidate-list after the stipulated time, SADESMO approached them (IEC) with a legally-sound argument which showed that the IEC was wrong in their decision. Instead, the IEC contemptuously ignored that advice and did not even care to acknowledge our letter. They went ahead to declare SASCO as winners thus handing them the SRC on a platter. SADESMO then went ahead to lodge a formal objection with the IEC's Head Office. And it was after the intervention of the IEC Head Office that the local IEC came to their senses. But the damage had bee done because they had already pronounced SASCO as the winners. "Had the KZN IEC listened to our voice
of reason and accepted SADESMO's list, elections would have
proceeded and vandals would not have had the reason to burn the
university. This incident adds to the concerns we have
concerning the KZN IEC's conduct when it comes to elections. We
only hope that they will learn from this unfortunate incident. " For Further Information: |