The ANC applaudes the Acting Judge President Edwin King's High Court rulling earlier today on the bar-coded identity document issue, dismissing the NNP's application with the contempt it deserves. This is a true victory for democracy and proves that any attempt to hi-jack the democratic process and hold it to ransom will not be tolerated.
The NNP's challenge to the validity of ID documents in the forthcoming elections were not based on any facts or interest in democratic principles, but was rather the employment of spoiling tactics brought about by a fear of a terrible defeat as predicted by various opinion polls. The Democratic parties proposed court challenge is based on the same selfish reasoning.
It would be most unfortunate should these parties attempt to take the matter to the Constitutional Court in an attempt to delay the elections. This would prove beyond any doubt that the NNP and others, have never been interested in democracy but have merely paid lip service to the term when it suites them.
The ANC has always supported the need for a bar-coded identity book as a means to stamp out any possibility of election fraud, while at the same time, developing a uniform and complete voter's roll, which will assist in planning and the provision of basic needs.
Out of this we believe that these parties will now see the need to stop wasting both time and resources, and begin to move forward and assist the process of deepening democracy by allowing the registration of voters to continue.
26 February 1999