The Democratic Alliance (DA) is very angry about Premier Panyaza Lesufi and his party’s wrong use of Gauteng Provincial Government’s (GPG) official social media platforms for their ANC campaigning.
The DA saw many posts on Gauteng Provincial Government Facebook page showing the President of South Africa, busy talking to voters in Tshwane, with a caption saying “On the Campaign Trail.” In another post, Premier Panyaza Lesufi is seen wearing an ANC t-shirt with the same caption.
Also, the people managing these social media pages for the province are ANC members; this is why the DA has been fighting against ANC’s influence.
This misuse of government platforms is not right and goes against the rules for elections. The rules clearly say that nobody should use their power or influence to change election results. Doing such things is not fair and open, which are very important for a free and fair society.
Even though the ANC’s actions are surprising, they aren’t unexpected. They know that change is coming and they are trying everything, even illegal things, to get back the support they lost over the past five years.
We want the ANC to stop using government channels for their politics right now. Political parties should be honest and fair in their campaigns. Anything else is against the rules we all agreed to follow.
The DA is taking this matter very seriously and will complain to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa, which has to make sure elections are fair.
We also warn all Gauteng residents to be careful of these bad practices meant to make them vote for the same party that has treated them badly for so long. Our goal to help them is still strong, and we will proudly lead the province to a better future after the elections.
