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By Zintle Mahlati 
7h ago
ActionSA, the political party of former Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, has given up on challenging the IEC over its problems with the party’s logo.
ActionSA submitted a new application to the IEC last week that was accompanied by a new logo that the party hopes will comply with the commission’s rules, paving the way for party registration.
The IEC ruled against ActionSA in September rejecting the party’s registration due to concerns that the party’s logo featuring the South African flag appeared too similar to that of another party, the Party of Action (POA).
The IEC cited a violation of section 16 (1) (b) of the Electoral Commission Law which states that the electoral office can reject the registration of a party if its trademark or distinctive symbol resembles that of another party that may deceive or confuse voters.
Mashaba then filed an appeal of the decision with the commission and that appeal was ultimately dismissed.
ActionSA was adamant that the party’s logo did not resemble that of a rival party and was considering legal action.
However, it now appears that the party has backtracked in its decision to consider and challenge the decision in court.
The party’s spokesman, Lerato M-Ngobeni, said the party had decided to redesign its logo following a survey it conducted with its supporters.
He said that a new application had been submitted to the IEC and that a response was expected in January. M-Ngobeni said the party was hopeful of success this time, as a new logo had been worked on with graphics experts.
He insisted that nothing was wrong with the previous logo and that the issue of similarities was due to the more than 600 registered political parties.
ActionSA plans to compete for seats in key metropolitan areas in next year’s local government elections.
Political Bureau
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