IEC rejects ISA's political party application

THE Electoral Commission has rejected the application by the Islamic State of Africa to register as a political party.

- TASCHICA PILLAY

Farhad Hoomer, a Durban businessman who was previously accused of terror related activities, had recently lodged an application to register Islamic State of Africa (ISA) as a political party.

Kate Bapela, spokesperson for the electoral commission, said following public interest and media enquiries regarding the application for registration as a political party by the Islamic State of Africa (ISA), the chief electoral officer rejected the application by ISA on three grounds.

"The first is that the party failed to meet the threshold of prescribed details of registered voters who support the formation of the party. The prescribed details are the signatures of 300 registered voters, together with their full names and signatures.

"The second ground is that the party published the notice of its application in a newspaper that enjoys circulation only in parts of the municipal area. The publication in only some parts of the municipal area is not sufficient to create awareness of the application. The purpose of publishing the application is to alert persons in the geographic area linked to the sphere of registration the party is applying for," said Bapela.