Cape Town - The GOOD Party has approached the Western Cape High Court to stop a by-election being called in ward 27 in the George Municipality.
GOOD claims there is no vacancy as its councillor Richard Hector, who on April 21 this year was photographed with DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers at an event to welcome him and two other George councillors to the DA, never officially resigned from the council or from GOOD.
GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said: “The facts are that Hector did consider resigning as a councillor due to feeling frustrated at systemic under-delivery in his community, and questioning whether he could better serve his people inside or outside the council.”
Herron claims Hector was manipulated by DA members into writing and submitting a resignation letter to municipal speaker Sean Snyman (DA) and that Hector later changed his mind.
Since the letter was addressed to a politician, and not to the municipal manager who is not politically aligned, the resignation had no legal standing but that the DA had carried on with its agenda Herron said.
“The next thing, Hector was being asked to parade himself for photographs with DA leader Helen Zille. Realising that he was being manipulated, Hector immediately made it clear that he did not intend to resign, and GOOD duly informed all relevant parties, including the IEC and municipality.”
Herron alleges that the speaker, “in a fit of political pique”, went ahead nonetheless and declared a vacancy.
The two other councillors who were photographed with Simmers were councillors Theresa Jeyi and Neville Louw.
On April 25, a few days after it publicly emerged that the three councillors had crossed to the DA, GOOD’s attorneys wrote to inform the Electoral Commission that the three councillors had indicated they did not intend to resign.
Eventually, Louw and Jeyi subsequently submitted lawful resignation letters, which triggered by-elections in wards 16 and 20.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za