News24 | IEC welcomes Electoral Court decision as ANC explores appeal over missed election deadline

IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo says the court’s decision creates certainty around those who are eligible to vote.

Yolanda Mdzeke/News24

• The Electoral Court dismissed the ANC’s appeal to add candidates after the 28 August deadline, impacting several municipalities.
• The IEC welcomed the decision, ensuring election timelines remain fair and transparent.
• The ANC is exploring options to appeal, citing a “technical glitch” as the reason for missing the deadline.
• For more political news visit News24.com.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has “noted” the Electoral Court judgment dismissing the ANC’s appeal and attempt to add names to its list of nominated candidates after the 28 August deadline.

“We believe that outcome creates certainty around those who are eligible to vote, and we just note that we will proceed with the activities that underpin the elections timetable,” said the IEC’s chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo.

The ANC turned to the Electoral Court earlier this month after it missed the IEC’s deadline to submit some of its lists of nominated candidates.

At the time, the party attributed the blunder to a “technical glitch” in the IEC’s system.

This affected several municipalities, including Port St Johns, Sundays River Valley, Walter Sisulu, Ingquza Hill in the Eastern Cape; the uMshwati Local Municipality and eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal; and the Mangaung Metro in the Free State.

READ | Electoral Court dismisses ANC’s candidate lists case against IEC

The Electoral Court’s outcome means the ANC will not contest elections in which it has not submitted nominated candidates by the deadline.

The party said it was exploring its options to appeal the decision.

The IEC’s deputy CEO, Masego Sheburi, added that the election timetable and timelines were intended to ensure the election’s freedom and fairness.

“This is so that contestants know what is required of them and must act, and if people have not acted, the commission should not be placed in a situation where it takes ad hoc decisions in favour of contestants in the context of an evolving election,” Sheburi said.

READ | IEC rebuts ANC’s appeal, presents proof and blames party for last-minute submission chaos

He added that he appreciated parties exercising their rights by approaching the court.

“In an election, perceptions sometimes have the currency of truth. The fact that the parties have gone to the right forums to raise these matters is appreciated, as the court could evaluate our submissions and decide.”

Sheburi said:

The court mentioned the very same fact and said that if contestants impugned the systems of conduct of an election management in an evolving electoral process, which has the potential of tainting how voters perceive the impartiality, fairness, and freedom of that election.

He added that the IEC was “happy that the court has spoken and that there is no finding that the systems that we are using for candidate nomination were less than capable for the task for which they were developed”.