ID to contest NPP registration in high court
2008-04-10
May Saal
THE ID plans to contest the legality of the NPP in the Cape High Court “within the next two weeks” to “get back the seats” they lost during last year’s floor-crossing window period. According to the ID Provincial Secretary in Western Cape, Rodney Lentit, the ID will challenge the unlawful registration of the NPP which will force them to disband. Lentit said they have lost 13 of their councillors to the NPP during the September floorcrossing period, including three in Drakenstein. “After requesting and receiving documents relating to the formation of the NPP from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), it appeared that the NPP should not have been legally registered as a political party and we have consulted with our legal team to discuss the court action,” Lentit said. To be registered as a political party, a party must submit a founding deed with 50 signatures of eligible South African voters vouching for the existence of the party. But according to the ID’s research and calls made to cell numbers on the NPP’s attendance register, a lot of the “members” were surprised, some denying that they had attended or were aware of the meeting. “In the NPP’s founding documents, out of the 60 people allegedly present at the NPP’s founding meeting on March 23 last year, one person provided no identity number, seven identity numbers were invalid, six people were not registered voters, seven signatures were questionable, and one person was recorded as ‘deceased’ on the population register,” said Lentit. That meant the NPP had been at least 12 of the 50 required members short at its founding meeting. ”We will definitely get our seats back, which will impact on municipalities like Drakenstein and the Winelands Distrcit Council. * The former Drakenstein Deputy Mayor, Jackie Noland, lost a case in the Cape High Court where she applied for a High Court order that she return to Council as ID representative. The application was dismissed with costs, saddling Noland with legal accounts which could amount to R240 000 payable to legal representatives including those of Drakenstein Municipality and the ID.
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