An investigation by Parliament into the alleged technical errors that occurred during the MPs' vote on the Protection of State Information Bill has revealed that, while ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga's voting device was fully operational, a technical glitch had occurred.
This comes after Parliament on Thursday last week revealed a technical error caused Motshekga's vote to be recorded as against the Bill, when he in fact voted in favour of it.
According to ANC spokesperson Moloto Mothapo, Motshekga's voting apparatus had captured his vote wrongly. "It is not the first time that minor technical glitches such as this happen, hence Parliament has a backup system which allows party whips to manually confirm votes after every vote," said Mothapo.
Another error that slipped in was the recording of votes by former MPs. Mothapo said this was caused by an outdated database and said measures have been put in place to ensure the database will be updated regularly.
Call for revote
Meanwhile, the ANC has rejected the DA's call for a rerun of the vote. According to DA chief whip Watty Watson, Motshekga's claim that his vote was recorded incorrectly raised the possibility that the same could have happened with other votes. The ANC, however, dismissed the opposition party's request as "mischief". Mothapo said the DA's call was an act of desperation and posturing.
Watson said although he will not pursue the matter any further, he is expecting a reply from Parliamentary speaker Max Sisulu, as he has received no reaction to his written request as of yet. "We will continue to fight this Bill and will call on the president not to sign it," said Watson. "If he does choose to sign it, we will take it to the Constitutional Court."
The Protection of State Information Bill was passed in Parliament last week, after three years of much-publicised debate and redrafting, with opposition parties calling it a direct threat to democracy.
The Bill is now awaiting president Jacob Zuma's decision on whether it will be passed into law.
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