Friends, it is always special for me to be in Nongoma because my roots are
deep in this soil. This was the home of my mother, Princess Magogo
kaDinuzulu, and has been home to many distinguished leaders of our nation.
In this place, history and politics collide. What emerges is a long and
steady partnership between Nongoma and the IFP.

It was this partnership that saw the IFP serving Nongoma before democracy
was birthed. And in 1994 our partnership saw the IFP leading governance in
Nongoma, at both provincial and local level. It has been a productive
partnership with tremendous benefits.

Tragically, however, over the past 20 years South Africa's political
landscape has changed dramatically and politics has moved away from a
righteous struggle for common good. For many in our country, it has become a
selfish pursuit of power.

Yet the partnership between Nongoma and the IFP has endured, for the IFP has
never abandoned its principles and the values we brought to the table 20
years ago are still the values we bring today. You have recognised that, and
have given the IFP your support, because our values are your values. We
share a vision for South Africa that has nothing to do with power, but
everything to do with common good, shared wellbeing and mutual development.

Thus even when politics became dirty and ethics shuffled off the stage, here
in Nongoma you were not tricked, bought or cajoled. The partnership with the
IFP stayed strong. Through that partnership, we kept Nongoma from going the
way that many other municipalities had gone; into corruption, ineptitude
and, eventually, administration.

Despite a ferocious campaign waged by our opponents in 2011, and despite
every dirty trick employed to influence the outcome, you sent a strong
message through the ballot box in the May 2011 Local Government Elections,
that Nongoma wants the IFP. You gave the seat in this ward, ward 11, to the
IFP and strengthened the good partnership between the IFP and Nongoma.

We entered a five year partnership at the Local Government Elections, based
on years and years of working together successfully. In by-elections after
that, in March 2012 and again in September, you increased your support for
the IFP. This spoke of our established relationship of trust. We know one
another, and we know what works in Nongoma.

Thus, when we faced a by-election in this ward on 23 October 2013, I felt
confident that this seat would remain in the IFP, because we had put in the
effort to earn your trust and your mandate; not just three weeks before the
by-elections, but year upon year upon year. I knew that we have loyal
members in Nongoma; people who love the IFP.

But I came here to see you before that by-election because I was aware of
how badly our opponents wanted to steal Nongoma. The ruling Party wanted to
take Nongoma from the IFP, because the people of Nkandla chose the IFP over
the ANC. Somehow the ANC felt that Nongoma is as close to my heart as
Nkandla is to President Zuma's. They wanted to score a political point
against me and were determined to win that by-election.

That is why, just days before the by-election, their big guns rolled into
town, handing out gifts that were bought with taxpayers' money. They came
here and gave you things that already belonged to you, because when state
resources are used to campaign for a political party, that's your money that
being used. Its money allocated by Government to specific projects, that
will now have to wait or stop altogether because funds were diverted into
buying you little bribes.

I am proud of this ward for accepting the gifts, but recognising that the
giver was deceitful. You rejected the ANC's candidate in ward 11. When he
was part of the IFP, you supported him. But when he defected to the ANC, you
were wise enough to withdraw your support. It's not about one person. It's
about whether the Party they represent can deliver with integrity,
accountability and consistency.

The NFP also tried desperately to win your support just days before the
by-election. Suddenly the District Municipality was able to deliver and
funds were reallocated to buy blankets for you the day before you voted. The
NFP learned these tricks from their alliance partner, the ANC.

I was concerned however, that other tricks would be used as well, for we
have seen endless by-elections in which voter fraud sways the outcome. We
have seen people bussed in to vote in wards in which they don't live. We
have seen all sorts of voter intimidation, brown envelope journalism and
bribery. As I said, politics has become a dirty game because some of the
players feel no qualms about playing dirty.

Thus I came here before the 23rd of October by-election and warned you to be
vigilant for any kind of irregularities, so that Nongoma would not be stolen
or bought and democracy would not be subverted.

As it turned out, more than 1700 registered voters stayed away from the
polls during that by-election. 30 went to the polls and spoilt their ballot.
And 20 used the Special Vote to make their voices heard the day before the
by-election. When the 2479 valid votes were counted, ward 11 was declared
won by the NFP, by just 9 votes. We were gutted by this result, for we knew
that something must have gone wrong.

Sure enough, we discovered that the IEC's counting officer had failed to
open the box of Special Votes, count them and include them in the total. The
Special Votes were cast in the presence of party observers and were cast in
such a way that interested parties could see which candidate had received
the vote. In other words, when the box of Special Votes was sealed the day
before the by-election, parties knew the IFP had received 15 of the 20
Special Votes.

Had the counting officer added the Special Votes to the total, as he should
have done, the outcome of the by-election would have changed completely. The
IFP would have been declared the winner. We therefore raised this error with
the presiding officer, but he simply said he forgot to stamp the ballot
papers. He was not willing to count the Special Votes or include them. He
was simply going to discard them, casting aside the democratic right of
these voters to have their vote count.

On behalf of these voters, and for the sake of a free and fair election, the
IFP lodged a complaint with the IEC in terms of the Municipal Electoral Act,
and the IEC investigated our objection.

On 26 November, just a month later, the IEC advised our legal
representatives that they had discovered that the 20 unstamped ballot
papers, if counted, would have changed the results of the by-election in
favour of the IFP. They had also discovered that the names of the 20 voters
had not been crossed off the voters' roll, and neither did the number of
voters whose names were crossed off reconcile with the number of marked
ballot papers from this voting station. Clearly there was more significant
fraud than we knew about.

But rather than including the Special Votes and correcting the by-election
results, the IEC referred the matter to the Electoral Court for a ruling.
Because of this, we had to wait another 5 months for the situation to be
rectified.

In the meantime, South Africa prepared for its fifth democratic elections
and the election campaign of the NFP made much of the fact that they had won
this seat in Nongoma.

It was only a few days before the May 2014 elections that the Electoral
Court delivered judgment on the 23 October 2013 by-election. The Electoral
Court agreed with the IFP that the Special Votes had to be counted and
included in the total for ward 11. The Court thus ordered the IEC to amend
the result of the by-election and to declare that the IFP's Mr Nkosinathi
Nzimande had won. After having been denied his rightful position - the
position you gave him - for a year and a half, Mr Nzimande took his seat as
your councillor in ward 11.

Was the mistake of not counting all the votes a real mistake, or was it
politically motivated? It's difficult to say. What we do know is that
parties knew that the Special Votes were overwhelmingly for the IFP. We also
know that when we pointed out the mistake, the relevant electoral officer
refused to rectify it. Furthermore, and this is the most telling of all, the
electoral officer was a member of SADTU, the South African Democratic
Teachers Union.

SADTU openly supports and campaigns for the ANC. In fact, for years the IFP
has prevailed on the IEC to stop using SADTU members as electoral officers
specifically because they are politically biased and have both motive and
incentive to ensure that the ANC wins elections. This, we believe, is one of
the greatest threats to free and fair elections. And the IFP is not alone in
raising this concern. In April 2014, most opposition parties signed a joint
petition which the IFP's Secretary General delivered to the IEC, calling on
the IEC not to put ANC-affiliated SADTU members in charge of voting
stations.

Our call has not yet been heeded and I shudder to think of the depth of
electoral fraud that has influenced the outcome of South Africa's elections.
The by-election here, in ward 11 of Nongoma, is all the evidence we need to
know that we are right in pursuing this issue. Voters must be respected.
Their votes must be respected. When the results of democratic elections are
manipulated, the process is no longer democratic.

The IFP is a champion of true democracy. We believed that your voice matters
and should be listened to. We believed that politics should not be about
power and money, but about serving and ensuring good governance. The IFP is
built on the principle of servant leadership. We understand that a
partnership of trust and integrity is the only way to achieve the goals of
economic development and social wellbeing. That partnership is not thrown
together overnight, or bought with state resources. It's built, slowly and
consistently, year after year, by doing the right thing even when we're up
against daunting odds.

I wanted you to know what had happened in Nongoma. It matters that the IFP
won that by-election. It matters because someone tried to trick you and
disregard your voice. It matters because the partnership between Nongoma and
the IFP is still flourishing, and no one should tell you differently.

I want to thank you for your support in that by-election, and for your
support in every effort the IFP makes to deliver good governance in Nongoma.
We value your votes, just as we value our day to day partnership that has
endured for so many years.

Friends, the challenges to democracy are escalating and politics is becoming
corrupt. But there are still those who value integrity, good governance,
freedom and service. You will find them in the IFP. Join us as we strengthen
the good in our country again. You can make a real difference, and we'll
make sure that your voice is heard.

This is the IFP. This is home.