The article's facts are inaccurate and convey misleading information on both the interpretation of section 79 (2) of the Electoral Act and on the issue of burning of the election roll alleged to have been said by one IEC officer in a workshop on archiving of material. The information shared with the workshop has been interpreted and understood out of context by the author.
Firstly, the author has distorted information regarding section 79 (2) provided by the public relations officer. The understanding provided by the author on this section as he put it and I quote, "unless there is a petition or evidence that one would be presented to IEC, the electoral body forward the material to the High Court," is misleading. The author links his assertion to the legal requirement under section 79 subsection 2, which is completely incorrect. The section does not suggest what the author purports. What the section says is, and it reads in part, "the registrar of high court shall retain for six months such documents relating to an election forwarded to him... and then, unless otherwise, ordered by the court... shall cause them to be destroyed." IEC does not make any decision or exercise discretion on what to do with election material after elections as such material must be forwarded to the high court whether or not there is eminent election petition immediately after such elections. The electoral act is a public document that all interested citizens should familiarise themselves with to appreciate and understand election processes.
