DA says ANC court win won’t translate into more votes

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has expressed concern over the Constitutional Court's decision to allow 181 ANC candidates to contest local government elections on November 4, despite welcoming the ruling. DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau emphasized that the judgment sets a worrying precedent for the enforcement of election deadlines and argued that all political parties should be held to the same standards.

She noted that the DA itself submitted its nominations on time, despite having a rigorous vetting process, and questioned the implications of the ruling for other parties that complied with the IEC's deadlines. Khakhau criticized ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula's call for a review of the DA's role in the Government of National Unity after the parties disagreed over the ANC's legal challenge, accusing the ANC of threatening its coalition partners instead of addressing the reasons for its failure to submit candidate nominations on time.

The Afrika Mayibuye Movement also welcomed the court's decision but called for it to be applied evenly to all qualifying parties, rather than just the ANC, citing Section 9 of the Constitution which guarantees equality before the law.