POTCHEFSTROOM– Independent candidates in Tlokwe say they’ve confirmed some of the addresses missing from the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) voters’ roll.

They responded to the IEC’s Constitutional Court application to have the by-elections set aside, saying it cannot prioritise the right to vote over the right to free and fair elections.

The Electoral Court postponed the Tlokwe by-elections to allow for the voters’ roll to be updated with addresses of more than 4,000 residents in the area.

But the IEC said updating these addresses and millions more around the country would take years and could delay the local government elections.

They want the court to grant them the right to proceed with this year’s local and the 2019 general elections.

“You cannot be disenfranchised if your right to vote is taken away to vote in an area where you are not a resident,” said HJ Moolman, who represents Tlokwe candidates.

But the independent candidates said, with a bit of effort, they were able to confirm addresses for a small sample of people on the voters’ roll who were listed without addresses.

“One of the things we are now proving to the court is our own verification of people appearing on the list, but for whom there were no addresses. We actually went and we got the addresses and it’s physical street addresses that we found.”

The court is yet to decide whether it will hear the case.

– eNCA