(L-R) Economic Liberation Forum (ELF) Acting deputy president Sontoyi Nyembezi, deputy general secretary Sifiso Mthembu, NEC Member Nomvula Khoza, president of ELF Hulisani Mani, general secretary Desmond Malashaphanga and head of legal Constitutional and policy development officer Kharikhode Gogome, briefs members of the media on their party being registered with the Independent Electoral Commission of SA's (IEC). Picture: Itumeleng English/ Independent Newspaper.
A newly registered political party, the Economic Liberators Forum (ELF), is ready to take on the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) over a logo and the alleged similarity of its name to that of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
On Monday, the party lost an appeal against the decision of the IEC to refuse to register them to contest the upcoming general elections.
The commission barred the ELF's attempt to register its party last week following the EFF's complaint to the IEC about the party’s registration.
The red berets’ argument was that the new party’s logo and colours, as well as its name, were similar to theirs and were intended to confuse the voters come May 29.
However, ELF party president Hulisani Mani insists they are willing to go to the highest court in the land to get their colours and logo back, even if it’s after elections.
The party has since added South Africa to their name and changed the colours of their logo from red to orange.
Last week the party protested outside IEC offices in Midrand demanding that they be registered, but the IEC took no notice of them and instead came up with a regulation that all parties who would be protesting should be 100 metres away.
Mani is now claiming that the party has made its mark in South African politics, forcing the IEC to make up new rules.
Addressing the media in Johannesburg yesterday, Mani said his party felt that the IEC was deliberately undermining them and not paying attention to what they were submitting because of the red tape associated with politics.
“We are going to take them to the highest court in the land to have them fix what is not right … We’re running two processes at once, the appeal plus a new application.
“There are over 20 parties that are using the African map and have been registered by the IEC, meaning that the IEC didn't have a specific route to deny us to use the African map on our logo because that colour, if you have to check on the logo, there was just a small light.
“So we do receive their rejection, but we’re still going to pursue them and our next step is go to the Electoral Court so that we’re able to expose the partiality and their failure to exercise the independence to other parties.”
Mani said the organisation had been in existence since 2015 and in no way copied the EFF, and his party would be on the ballot.
Mani also opened up on why he had turned the forum into a political party, saying it came as a message when he was in hospital a couple of months ago.
He is the son of slain Ronald Mani, who is suspected of having been killed in 2019 for being vocal in the VBS Mutual Bank matter.
Ronald Mani and Tshililo Timson Musetsho were members of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union as well as employees at the Vhembe District Municipality.
The municipality had deposited R311 million into VBS Mutual Bank in contravention of regulations.
The two were shot dead in separate incidents, allegedly after being vocal of the looting of about R2.3 billion of the bank's investments.
The Star
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