LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: IEC finalises ballot while ANC faces exclusion in six municipalities

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has finalised the list of candidates who will contest the 4 November local government elections, leaving the ANC to face the consequences of a candidate list blunder that has resulted in the exclusion of 181 of its candidates across six municipalities after an Electoral Court ruling.

On Wednesday, 16 September, the Electoral Court dismissed the ANC’s challenge against the IEC’s exclusion of candidates whose nominations were not finalised before the 5pm deadline on 28 August. The ANC has since resolved to appeal against the judgment.

But while the party considers its next legal move, the IEC has proceeded with the election timetable and is preparing to publish the final list of contestants. IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said on Wednesday that the commission had noted the court’s decision and would now proceed with election preparations.

“We have noted the decision of the Electoral Court in relation to the application that was made by the ANC. We believe that the outcome creates certainty about those who are eligible to participate and we just know that and we implement and proceed with the activities that underpin the election timetable,” he said.

The commission revealed that 136,790 candidates had satisfied the statutory requirements to contest seats across the country’s eight metropolitan, 44 district and 205 local municipalities.

Of these candidates, 98,219 are party-nominated ward candidates, 38,571 are party candidates contesting PR seats and 621 are independent candidates contesting ward seats.

A total of 10,526 seats will be contested in the elections, compared with 10,478 in 2021. The number of certified candidates has increased substantially, from 95,427 in 2021 to 136,790 this year.

‘The timelines are immutable’

The ANC’s candidate list dispute has since raised the question of what will now happen to voters who may have wanted to vote for ANC candidates who will now not appear on the ballot, particularly in Ngquza Hill and Port St Johns.

IEC deputy CEO for electoral operations Masego Sheburi said the commission could not make exceptions to the election timetable for contestants who had failed to complete the required process.

He said the timelines were designed to protect the right to participate in free and fair elections by ensuring all contestants knew what was required of them and when they had to act.

“The right to vote does not only mean an end there on the right to vote. It is hollow if it is not matched by the right to vote in free and fair elections,” he said.

Sheburi said the election timetable was intended to provide certainty and fairness, and that the commission could not be placed in a position where it made decisions in favour of individual contestants while the electoral process was under way.

“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 a context of an evolving election.”

He said the deadlines were “immutable” because they were necessary to protect the rights guaranteed under section 19 of the Constitution.

‘IEC systems can be trusted’

Sheburi, however, said the commission welcomed political parties exercising their legal rights by approaching the courts to resolve disputes about the electoral process.

“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.”

He said it was important that disputes over the IEC’s systems were tested through the proper legal channels because claims that electoral systems were flawed could affect public confidence in the process.

“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” would have the potential “of tainting how voters perceive the impartiality, fairness, and freedom of that election.”

Sheburi said the commission was satisfied that the court had not found its candidate nomination systems incapable of performing their intended function.

“We are 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.”

‘Candidates not on final list’

The final number of candidates is lower than the number initially nominated because the IEC conducted statutory reviews after nominations closed.

The commission also said 5,096 candidates had been disqualified after statutory reviews that included checks that contestants had paid the applicable deposits and that candidates had been properly nominated.

On 4 September, the commission issued notices to 221 parties and independent candidates concerning 1,280 nominated candidates whose identification documents and completed acceptance-of-nomination forms had not been submitted.

Parties and independents had until 7 September to provide the required documents.

On 9 September, the IEC issued further notices concerning 550 candidates who had either been nominated as independents, and by a political party, or by more than one political party. The affected parties were given until 11 September to decide whether to retain or replace those candidates.

Sheburi said candidates could ultimately be disqualified for several reasons, including failing to pay the required deposit by the cut-off date.

Another reason was if a party had failed to provide proof that a candidate had accepted the nomination when requested to do so.

In those cases, Sheburi said the IEC notified the affected parties and allowed them either to retain the candidate or remove and replace them.

“As a consequence of all these … critical activities in the timetable, the number of contestants and the number of parties has indeed come down,” he said.

The ballot takes shape

The final candidate list provides certainty to political parties, independent candidates and voters about who will appear on the ballot on 4 November.

The IEC said it could now proceed with ballot paper preparation, with the ballot draw scheduled to take place during the signing of the Electoral Code of Conduct on 23 September. The certificates confirming candidature will be issued on 25 September.

The scale of the contest will make for some unusually crowded ballots.

Johannesburg will have 75 parties contesting PR seats, followed by Tshwane with 70, eThekwini with 69, Ekurhuleni with 67 and Cape Town with 55.

The IEC said these municipalities would therefore require double-column PR ballot papers.

Applications for special votes will open on 21 September and close on 12 October, with special votes scheduled for 2 and 3 November ahead of election day. DM