By Zuko Komisa

- The ANC is appealing the Electoral Court’s decision to bar it from six municipalities after missing the candidate submission deadline.
- The party insists candidate data was captured before the deadline due to an electronic system error, which the Electoral Commission denies.
- Any appeal must be heard urgently before ballot papers for the November 4 polls are printed.
On Wednesday, the Electoral Court dismissed the ANC’s bid to force the Electoral Commission (IEC) to accept more than 180 late candidate submissions for the November 4 local government elections.
The court also granted the Democratic Alliance (DA), a Government of National Unity partner, leave to intervene against the application, while throwing out a late bid by the African Transformation Movement.
The core of the dispute centres on a missed deadline of August 28 across municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, and the Eastern Cape.
While the ANC maintains that a technical glitch on the IEC’s online system prevented final uploads, the electoral body insists the party simply failed to complete the submission on time.
Following the ruling, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu confirmed that the party would exercise its legal rights to appeal, emphasising that the move is not an attempt to bypass electoral rules.
“We have consistently maintained that this matter is not about seeking preferential treatment for the ANC, nor about asking the Electoral Commission to change the rules for the benefit of our organisation. It concerns the legal status of candidate information that the ANC maintains was captured into the IEC’s electronic system before the prescribed deadline.”
The party has urged its members and supporters to remain calm as legal representatives prepare for an urgent review.
With printing deadlines looming just weeks away, the unfolding legal showdown will determine whether the governing party can secure its place on the ballot in the affected regions.
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