DA member shocked to find her name on COPE candidate list

Why is my name still on COPE’s candidate councillor list? 

That is the conundrum facing DA member Denise Pieterson, who joined the party two years ago.

She left COPE after the 2016 municipal polls, where she had tried to contest for ward 7.

However, her name is still on the IEC’s list as a candidate councillor for ward 7.

“I’m actually very upset about it. I’m going to the IEC to straighten this out,” she said.

“I was a COPE member a few years ago, but on Thursday I was taken aback when I got a phone call from [ward 7 councillor] John Best to ask why I was on COPE’s list,” she said.

Pieterson said she had not yet contacted COPE as she hoped the IEC would resolve the issue.

“I’ve been with the DA for more than two years now.

“I am not contesting any position within the DA. For now, I’m just a member and a supporter.”

Since the list was released on Wednesday, several blunders have been picked up.

Abantu Integrity Movement’s mayoral candidate, Khusta Jack, has been left off the list  and the African Independent Congress is absent.

IEC regional spokesperson Crosby Bacela said the matter was between Pieterson and COPE.

“The person can write to the IEC national office to clarify the matter, but in terms of the IEC, there’s no issue.

“The matter of lists has been finalised and the only people who can remove her now is the party itself.

“For the IEC, it would have been an issue if she appeared as a candidate for multiple parties,” Bacela said.

COPE regional chair  Thozama Noganda could not be reached for comment.

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