{
  "id": 14716186,
  "title": "IEC to clarify status of 23 parties hit by candidate list exclusion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/iec-to-clarify-status-of-23-parties-hit-by-candidate-list-exclusion",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-15T14:15:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SABC News",
    "slug": "sabc-news",
    "url": "https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/iec-to-clarify-status-of-23-parties-hit-by-candidate-list-exclusion/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa may reveal its plans to address 23 political parties affected by the recent candidate list exclusion. This decision follows the Constitutional Court's ruling in favor of the African National Congress (ANC), allowing their members to be included on the ballot papers for the upcoming November 4th elections. IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, explained that the number of parties has reduced to 23 since they completed analyzing the nominations of the original 44. Mamabolo stated that these parties had a compliant list and had paid a deposit, placing them in the same position as the ANC.\n\nThe Constitutional Court's decision has raised concerns about the reliability of the IEC's online candidate nomination system. The Afrika Mayibuye Movement, one of the affected parties, questioned whether the court's ruling highlights systemic issues within the online platform. National Spokesperson Sydney Baloyi argued that the scale of the problem suggests that the nomination system's design or operation may be flawed, going beyond mere negligence.\n\nThe United Democratic Movement (UDM) has urged the IEC to promptly engage with the affected parties following the court's ruling. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa emphasized the need to address transparency and the system's ability to provide clear and immediate confirmation of candidate submissions. Holomisa pointed out that the current system sometimes fails to provide timely notifications, leading to potential confusion and issues for parties when they become aware of problems with their submissions.",
  "summary": "This comes after the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the ANC.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}