Magashule: 'We were robbed by the IEC for refusing to allow us to be on the regional paper'

JOHANNESBURG - African Congress for Transformation (ACT) leader Ace Magashule says he feels robbed by the IEC as some party candidates miss out on contesting for a seat at the National Assembly in Wednesday's elections.

Magashule lashed out at the IEC on Wednesday after casting his vote in Parys in the Free State.

While Magashule's party appears on the national ballot, he said it was the IEC's fault that some ACT parliamentary candidates were not on the regional ballot.

Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court dismissed an urgent application by the African Congress for Transformation and two other parties to push elections back.

The party had missed the deadline to upload the remaining documents needed to qualify to appear on the provincial-to-national list.

At the time, Magashule blamed it on technical glitches on the IEC's systems.

After casting his vote on Wednesday, Magashule again piled on the criticism.

"We were robbed by the IEC for refusing to allow us to be on the regional paper. This morning as I listened to the news, IEC is complaining about technical glitches - is it not what we went to court about? Is there justice? I don't know, I don't think so."

Despite some setbacks, the IEC said it doesn't expect the technical difficulties to affect the commission's work.