ANC loses court bid to put 181 excluded candidates on local election ballot

IEC

Johannesburg – The ANC has lost its Electoral Court challenge against the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) over 181 candidates excluded from contesting the November 4 local government elections. 

The Electoral Court dismissed the party’s appeal on Wednesday, following arguments heard from the ANC, IEC and Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday. 

The ruling means the affected ANC candidates will remain off the ballot unless the party succeeds with a further appeal. 

According to IOL, the court also granted the DA leave to intervene in the case, while making no order as to costs. The court further found that the African Transformation Movement’s (ATM) application to intervene was brought “inordinately late” and without an application for condonation.  

The dispute centred on whether candidate information captured on the IEC’s Online Candidate Nomination System before the August 28, 5pm deadline amounted to a valid submission. 

The ANC argued that the required candidate information, documentation and deposits had been captured on the system before the deadline, but the final submission process was not completed.  

The IEC maintained that capturing or saving candidate information was not enough and that parties were required to complete the final submission process. 

The dispute affects 181 ANC candidates across six municipalities: Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill, Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape, uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal and Mangaung in the Free State. 

Following the judgment, ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the party would pursue an appeal. 

“Having considered the judgment, the ANC will exercise its legal rights and pursue the appropriate appeal process. Our legal representatives will engage the court on the legal questions arising from the judgment,” Bhengu said. 

The ANC said it respected the court but maintained that its challenge was not an attempt to secure special treatment. 

“The ANC respects the courts and the judicial process. We have consistently maintained that this matter is not about seeking preferential treatment for the ANC, nor about asking the Electoral Commission to change the rules for the benefit of our organisation,” Bhengu said. 

The party said the central issue was whether candidate information captured on the IEC’s electronic system before the deadline could legally be regarded as submitted. 

“It concerns the legal status of candidate information that the ANC maintains was captured into the IEC’s electronic system before the prescribed deadline,” Bhengu said. 

The DA had opposed the ANC’s challenge, arguing that allowing the affected candidates to be submitted after the deadline would undermine the certainty and fairness of the electoral process. 

The court’s decision follows a legal battle that has also seen the ANC oppose the DA’s intervention. The ANC had argued that the DA had no legal interest in its dispute with the IEC.

The ANC has now urged its members and supporters to remain disciplined while its legal team considers the next step. 

“We call on all ANC members, leaders, and supporters to remain calm and disciplined, and to refrain from public commentary that could prejudice or interfere with the ongoing legal process,” Bhengu said. 

Despite the setback, the party said it remained committed to contesting the 2026 local government elections. 

“The ANC remains fully committed to the 2026 Local Government Elections. Our focus remains on presenting our programme to South Africans, engaging communities, and earning their support through our record and our policies for the betterment of communities.” 

The local government elections are scheduled for November 4. 

Picture: X/@IECSouthAfrica

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Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi

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