ATM plans to launch last-minute court challenge to stop first Parliament sitting
The ATM, which has two seats in the National Assembly, joins the MK Party as the latest political organisation looking to halt the sitting over dissatisfaction with the electoral process.
President Cyril Ramaphosa replied to oral questions from Members of the National Assembly at the Good Hope Chamber in Parliament, Cape Town on 19 March 2024. Picture: @PresidencyZA/X
JOHANNESBURG - The African Transformation Movement (ATM) is planning to launch a court challenge in a last-minute scramble to stop the first sitting of Parliament on Friday.
The ATM, which has two seats in the National Assembly, joins the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party as the latest political organisation looking to halt the sitting over dissatisfaction with the electoral process.
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In a media statement released on Wednesday morning, ATM said it observed a number of irregularities during recent polls.
The ATM said the first sitting of Parliament, which will see a new state president being elected, cannot go ahead while there are election disputes.
At this stage, the party has not put forward any evidence to support their claims of voter rigging and fraud by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
Party spokesperson Zama Ntshona said they had taken the step of approaching the Electoral Court after exhausting all avenues within the IEC’s dispute mechanisms.
"We are asking the court to actually declare these elections null and void for they are not free and fair."
Ntshona said they expected to formally file their papers before the end of business on Wednesday.