Here’s why the ANC submitted its councillor candidates to the IEC on deadline day
The IEC says it will not bend the rules for any political party.
The African National Congress (ANC) revealed on deadline day that it submitted councillor candidates to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on time, despite internal "vetting" processes. The ANC party is in conflict with the IEC following its failure to submit all councillor candidate lists in at least three provinces, particularly the Eastern Cape.
The ANC claims glitches in the IEC's system led to candidates being excluded, but the IEC denies these claims, stating that parties had two months to submit their lists before the deadline. ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu explained that the party undergoes a stringent vetting process for candidate selection, ensuring accuracy in ID numbers and minimizing errors.
Bhengu acknowledged that the party uploaded candidates on the last day of submission, but the issue arose when finalizing the list. She requested an investigation into the alleged malfunction of the IEC's online system on 28 August, seeking to rectify the exclusion of certain candidates from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Free State municipalities.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo affirmed that the commission will not bend its rules for any political party, noting that the ANC had confirmation of the non-submission in specific municipalities. Bhengu emphasized that the ANC is not at loggerheads with the IEC, hoping for a constructive engagement and investigation into any potential technological failures.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
