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MYEZA WANTS KHUBUTA MP’S ELECTION NULLIFIED

15/10/2013 04:49:00 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI

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MBABANE – Convicted Khubuta former Member of Parliament Charles Myeza wants the election of Njabulo Mabuza as MP of the area declared null and void.

Myeza is currently serving a five-year sentence after he was found guilty of defrauding the State of over E600 000.
His lawyer has since filed an urgent application at the High Court and the matter will be heard on November 1, 2013.
In his application Myeza is seeking an order directing the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to conduct a verification count of all ballot papers casted at Khubuta on September 20, 2013.

Respondents are Khubuta MP-elect Mabuza, the Chairman of the EBC, the Commissioner of His Majesty’s Correctional Services and the Attorney General. “On September 20, 2013, the day of the elections, I was taken from Sidwashini Correctional facility and driven to KaPhunga polling station. I found that voting was already underway. I was allowed to cast my vote.”

He submitted that the other candidates who were competing against him were free to visit all other polling stations thus gaining unfair advantage over him because they were visible to the electorate.
Myeza stated that due to the fact that the court order allowing his participation in the election was issued at 4pm on September 19, 2013 he sent his agent to go and monitor all the polling stations.

He alleged that the people he had sent reported a number of anomalies and he was able to observe some of them at the KaPhunga polling station.
These are allegations contained in an affidavit whose merits are still to be tested in court and the respondents are yet to file their responding papers.
Myeza alleged that at KaPhunga polling station there was no ink sensor, a machine that was used to determine if a person had already voted at this or other polling station.

“The sensor was only brought to the polling station after lunch and it was found to have a malfunctioning battery as it was not charged. This resulted in the election officers not being certain whether or not any person was voting for the second time on the day.
He mentioned that several people who did not belong to the constituency were spotted during the election day.
“I may not have the precise figures of how may people may have been involved in the malpractice but I have been advised and verily believe that the absence of the machine cast enough doubt about the credibility of the outcome of the votes.”