Ramaphosa rubbishes claims he had an ulterior motive for his 26 May speech

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has rubbished claims that his May 26th speech was delivered with an ulterior motive, saying it was aimed at assuring the public about peaceful elections.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says Ramaphosa’s speech was a thinly veiled political campaign that violated the Electoral Code of Conduct.

Arguments for the matter are currently underway at the Electoral Court sitting at the Johannesburg High Court.
 
Representative for the DA, Advocate Anthony Stein, claimed there were parts of Ramaphosa’s speech that were presidential and others that were political.

In his answering affidavit, Ramaphosa said it was important for him to address the nation ahead of the elections.

Ramaphosa said that his speech was informed by meetings he had with the security cluster, which assured him measures were in place to ensure the elections were free and fair.

The president said that his speech was neutral and he never once mentioned his political party, the African National Congress (ANC).

Ramaphosa said that he told the country of the achievements and challenges of his administration.

He said that he did not mention how he would fix the challenges as that would have been a political assumption that he was returning to office.