{
  "id": 14979875,
  "title": "33 million ballots needed to accommodate ConCourt ruling: IEC",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/33-million-ballots-needed-to-accommodate-concourt-ruling-iec",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T14:28:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SABC News",
    "slug": "sabc-news",
    "url": "https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/1169240-2/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Electoral Commission (IEC) has announced that 33 million ballots need to be produced to accommodate the extension of the Constitutional Court judgment to additional political parties in the upcoming local government elections. The IEC Chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, addressed this issue during a media briefing in Pretoria, stating that the Commission does not foresee this development impacting the election date set for November 4th. Moepya explained that 32 political parties will now be allowed to submit their candidate lists following the Constitutional Court's ruling in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.\n\nThe additional ballots will be necessary for six municipalities where the ANC's candidate list was affected by the court's appeal. The Commission had delayed starting the printing process until the Constitutional Court issued a ruling on the matter. Of the new total requirement, 6.6 million ballots remain unprinted, affecting the affected municipalities. The Constitutional Court's decision to permit 181 ANC candidates to contest in six municipalities will also impact 107 local municipalities, alongside the inclusion of the 32 additional parties.",
  "summary": "The IEC announced that 32 political parties will be allowed to submit their candidate list.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "ConCourt ruling has given Mbalula another shot at the ANC 2027 leadership race",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/concourt-ruling-has-given-mbalula-another-shot-at-the-anc-2027",
        "published": "2026-10-16T11:40:48.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Watch: IEC outlines next steps after ConCourt ruling on ANC candidates",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/watch-iec-outlines-next-steps-after-concourt-ruling-on-anc-candidates",
        "published": "2026-10-16T12:09:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}