Election Watch created to monitor May 29 election

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Civil society groups who gathered in Johannesburg on Saturday under the banner of Election Watch say they are looking forward to playing their role as election monitors to ensure the credibility of this year’s elections.

Election Watch is a body set up to mobilise civil society groups in the country to observe and monitor South Africa’s 29 May general elections. About 18 non-governmental and civil society organisations converged at St George’s Cathedral in Parktown at a gathering organised by Defend Our Democracy Movement.

The movement’s Andries Sibanyoni says one of the key messages from the meeting is that the organisations want to contribute to free, fair and credible elections.

“People were saying the IEC is not perfect, but it could not be portrayed in a picture that other people want it to be portrayed. There was a feeling that those who want to discredit the IEC they know exactly what they are doing, just to plant a seed of doubt in people’s minds and whatever results will come out, so they can be questionable.”