Political parties face fines for not removing election posters before deadline

Posters of President Cyril Ramaphosa urging voters to support the ANC were spotted in several parts of Nelson Mandela Bay at the weekend, in violation of municipal bylaws.

The ANC is one of several parties which could be fined by the metro, with the deadline to remove posters having been on Thursday last week.

EFF and GOOD posters could still be seen on Cape Road on Sunday.

MK Party, Bosa, DA and ActionSA posters were dotted along streets in Walmer and near the King Dawid Stuurman International Airport.

Municipal Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officer Dumisani Mbebe said parties would be fined according to how many posters had not been taken down.

The fine is R57.69 a poster.

“We will charge all of them,” Mbebe said.

“We are done with most of Kariega and we are aiming to have them down by [Tuesday] everywhere.”

Mbebe said the ANC and EFF were the biggest offenders so far, though he could not confirm how many posters had been removed.

Posters and other election-related material cannot be displayed for more than 14 days after an election.

The results of the national and provincial elections were announced on June 2.

ANC regional chair Babalwa Lobishe said she would ensure every poster was removed by the end of Monday.

“I did not know we had missed the deadline but no ANC poster will be up by Tuesday morning,” she said.

GOOD party regional chair Siyanda Manana also promised its posters would be down by the end of the week.

“We will send people out to take them down,” he said.

Bosa acting national spokesperson Roger Solomons said the party had already appointed a service provider to take down posters.

“They will be down by Thursday at the latest. They are running behind. Apologies,” he said.

EFF regional chair Khanya Ngqisha said: “As far as I know the posters have been taken down but we will have to check in which wards they are still up and follow up on that.”

ActionSA spokesperson Luzuko Gedze said its posters would be down by the end of the week.

“We acknowledge the municipal deadline for removal of our election posters,” he said.

“Our activists have already commenced the removal process in areas such as Ibhayi and Kariega and have made significant progress in Gqeberha’s western suburbs, including Sunridge Park and Lorraine.”

Acting DA caucus leader Morne Steyn and MK Party regional convener Xolani Mgxotheni could not be reached.

HeraldLIVE