Herman Mashaba ‘shocked’ as new political party hit by legal blow

Action SA has seen its appeal against a ruling from the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC) rejected on Tuesday. This came after the regulatory body stopped the new political party – founded by Herman Mashaba – from registering as an official organisation, due to a disagreement over their logo.

The problem with Herman Mashaba’s new political party

The party was flagged for creating an emblem that appeared too similar to that of the ‘Party of Action’. The IEC has also put their foot down on the use of the South African flag in the design, too. However, Herman Mashaba and co are outraged by the decision, which he states was made on very flimsy grounds:

• Action SA says the IEC ‘relied on generalisations’, such as the reasonable voter’s inability to discern subtle differences.
• The decision was based on 91 interviews and eight focus groups – this has been branded ‘statistically unrepresentative’.
• Action SA argues that the IEC used to register political parties with similar logos – but have since stopped due to a backlog of ‘inactive organisations’. Mashaba and his team believe this is an ‘inconsistency’ that cannot be allowed to stand.

Action SA react to controversial IEC ruling

Although the group is confident that they will win an appeal in the High Court, Herman Mashaba admitted he was ‘shocked’ by today’s outcome. The former Mayor of Johannesburg issued a follow-up statement, blasting the IEC in turn:

“Action SA is shocked by the decision of the Commission, and the basis upon which the Commission has rationalised its decision. We remain deeply concerned that a Chapter 9 Institution, charged with safeguarding our electoral democracy, can make important legal decisions in this manner. We are confident we can successfully review this decision.”

“We are currently consulting our legal team to study the Commission’s reasons to uphold the decision of the Chief Electoral Officer. We are of the view that any effort to alter the logo would likely produce a similar problem precisely because there are over 600 political parties, a situation caused by the IEC’s failure to deregister parties.”

Herman Mashaba

In the decision to dismiss our appeal the IEC admitted that they used to register parties with similar logos.

The IEC stated that: “In the past, when few parties sought registration, the CEO could afford to be generous.”

Bend the rules when it suits you @IECSouthAfrica?

— ActionSA (@Action4SA) November 10, 2020