ANC loses Electoral Court battle over disputed candidate lists
The ANC has lost its Electoral Court challenge over 181 disputed candidates, but says it will appeal the judgment as the November 4 local elections approach.
The African National Congress (ANC) has suffered a setback in its legal challenge against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) over 181 candidates who were excluded from the November 4 local government elections. However, the party announced it will appeal the judgment. The Electoral Court dismissed the ANC's appeal on Wednesday following arguments from the party, the IEC, and the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday.
The case centered on whether candidate information submitted to the IEC's Online Candidate Nomination System before an August 28 deadline could be considered as formally submitted, despite the ANC not completing the final submission process. The court granted the DA permission to intervene in the matter, while dismissing the ANC's appeal.
It also found the African Transformation Movement's application to intervene was not properly before the court. The ANC plans to pursue the next legal step, stating it respects the court and judicial process but maintains its case is about the legal status of the affected candidates. The dispute involves 181 ANC candidates from six municipalities in South Africa, with the party arguing the candidates' information had been captured in the IEC's system before the deadline, despite not completing the required process.
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