The Electoral Commission will give relief to 32 political parties similarly affected by the Constitutional Court’s ruling and directive concerning the African National Congress (ANC) and the submission of its candidate lists for the 2026 Local Government Elections.
"Consistent with the constitutional imperative for free and fair elections as well as the importance of upholding the inherent principle of parity of treatment, the Commission has resolved that the 32 similarly situated parties must be deemed to have lawfully submitted their candidates,” IEC Chairperson, Commissioner Mosotho Moepya, said on Friday in Pretoria.
He made the remarks at a media briefing in Pretoria on the outcome of the Constitutional Court judgment and its implications for the Commission.
The Constitutional Court order requires the Commission to include 181 ANC candidates - 51 ward candidates and 130 proportional representation candidates - across six municipalities.
“The Commission’s view is that it would be irrational and offensive to the principle of parity of treatment to exclude parties similarly situated to the ANC.
“The Commission emphasises that the inclusion of parties was made judiciously and solely for the purpose of advancing free and fair elections demanded by the Constitution,” the Chairperson said.
The Commission has already put processes in place to give effect to the judicial injunction.
Moepya stressed that the Commission has a constitutional obligation to ensure that all elections it administers meet the high standard of being free and fair.
“Part of that constitutional duty is even-handedness in the treatment of electoral contestants. The Commission recognises that thirty-two (32) other similar-situated parties intended to contest against the ANC.
“These 32 other parties intended to contest in 121 municipalities across the country. Their intended participation involved all three ballot types: metro, local, and district. As with the ANC, these parties had nominated compliant candidates and paid election deposits but had not submitted their final candidate lists,” he said.
The Commission identified the 32 political parties after conducting compliance checks.
Thirteen other parties were found not to have met the requirements for the lawful submission of candidates, even after the effect of the Constitutional Court order was extended.
The Chairperson explained that the 13 parties failed to meet the requirements for reasons that included the payment of election deposits and the voters’ roll registration requirement to be registered in the municipality being contested.
Implications of the Commission’s decision
The Constitutional Court order applies to all parties who were in a similar situation as the ANC and affects 107 municipalities.
The IEC will have to produce 33 million ballots to accommodate the extension of the judicial injunction.
Of the new total requirement, 27 million ballots had already been printed, while 6.6 million had not yet been printed.
“However, 6.6 million ballots of that total requirement had not been printed. This affects the six municipalities whose ballots were affected by the appeal of the ANC that was before the Constitutional Court.
“The Commission held back from commencing the printing of the ballots until the Constitutional Court had made a ruling on the matter. In other words, no costs were incurred in relation to ballots affecting these six municipalities,” Moepya said.
Immediate steps
The Commission will contact all 32 political parties to confirm whether they still intend to participate in the 4 November Local Government Elections.
“If they do, these parties will be given an opportunity to comply with candidate nomination requirements and, where required, supplement or substitute candidate names if on multiple lists.
“Candidates will then be provided with their candidature certificate. These processes will unfold in a truncated process limited to the involved 33 parties,” he said.
The Chairperson said the Commission did not anticipate that these developments would affect the election date.
“However, it is apparent that our logistical preparations have been significantly affected. The logistical operations will now have to be conducted within a very truncated period.
“Once again, the Commission reaffirms its commitment to upholding the rule of law, including respecting the decisions of the courts. Furthermore, the Commission remains resolute that political parties are treated fairly and consistently in the administration of the electoral process,” he said. -SAnews.gov.za
