The African National Congress (ANC) has approached the Constitutional Court to challenge a recent Electoral Court ruling in favor of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). The ANC argues that the IEC's software for submitting candidate lists should not supersede electoral laws. According to an affidavit submitted by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, the party is seeking an order to overturn the Electoral Court's decision, which dismissed the ANC's appeal against the IEC.
The dispute centers on the ANC's failure to click the "submit as final" button on the IEC's online candidate nomination system (OCNS) before the 5 pm deadline on August 28. The IEC had decided that the ANC had not submitted its lists of candidates in at least six municipalities, affecting at least 181 of its candidates. This decision may bar the ANC from contesting the November 4 local government elections in municipalities such as Port St Johns, Ngquza Hill, Walter Sisulu, Sunday's River Valley, uMshwathi, and Mangaung.
The ANC contends that clicking the "submit as final" button was not a legal requirement under section 14 of the Municipal Electoral Act but merely a software function. The party argues that all its candidates had been "uploaded and captured" on the OCNS by the stipulated deadline, which has never been disputed by the IEC. Mbalula states that the ANC completed the electronic forms and uploaded every annexure in every municipality and ward it intended to contest, including the six municipalities at issue.
The ANC further argues that the issue would disenfranchise voters and have ramifications beyond its party. The IEC had rejected 2,274 candidates from 45 political parties, even though they had been captured on the OCNS, simply because they were "not fully submitted" by the August 28 5 pm cut-off time. The ANC warns that voters in the affected municipalities and wards will be deprived of choices protected by section 19 of the constitution.
Bongani Mathae, one of the 49 affected ANC members in Mangaung, is supporting the ANC's application. Mathae, also the current speaker of the Free State's only metro municipality, argues that the Electoral Court's decision to rule in favor of the IEC last month violated his and others' constitutional right to stand for public office. He and the other 48 affected members are seeking to intervene in the ConCourt case.
The intervening applicants, including Mathae, argue that the relief sought is required to ensure their rights to vote for a political party of their choice and to contest and possibly hold public office in the upcoming local government elections are protected. They also contend that the relief extends to the class of citizens in Mangaung who are members and supporters of the ANC to vote for a political party of their choice.
With just four weeks to go before the municipal polls, the ANC is asking the ConCourt to hear its application on an urgent basis and order the IEC to reprint ballot papers, where necessary, if its application is successful. The matter is due to be heard in the ConCourt this week, following the ANC's application for the apex court to overturn the Electoral Court's decision in favor of the IEC.
Key points
- ANC challenges IEC software in Constitutional Court over candidate list submission dispute
- Dispute affects at least 181 ANC candidates in six municipalities
- ANC argues clicking "submit as final" button is not a legal requirement under electoral laws
