ANC loses Electoral Court battle over disputed candidate lists - IOL

The Electoral Court dismissed the ANC’s appeal over candidate information captured on the IEC’s online system, while granting the DA leave to intervene in the dispute.

The ANC has lost its Electoral Court challenge against the IEC over 181 candidates excluded from the November 4 local government elections, but the party says it will appeal the judgment.

The Electoral Court dismissed the ANC’s appeal on Wednesday after hearing arguments from the party, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday.

The case centred on whether candidate information captured on the IEC’s Online Candidate Nomination System before the August 28 deadline could be regarded as having been formally submitted, despite the ANC not completing the system’s final submission process.

The court granted the DA leave to intervene in the matter, while dismissing the ANC’s appeal.

It also found that the African Transformation Movement’s application to intervene was not properly before the court because it had been brought “inordinately late” and without an application for condonation.

The ANC has now said it will pursue the next legal step.

“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,” national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said.

The party said it respected the court and the judicial process, but maintained that its case was not about seeking preferential 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.”

Instead, the ANC said the dispute concerned the legal status of candidate information it maintained had been captured on the IEC’s electronic system before the deadline.

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

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

The ANC had approached the Electoral Court after the IEC excluded the affected candidates, arguing that their information had already been captured and uploaded onto the commission’s system before the 5 pm deadline.

The party argued that it had provided the required candidate information and documentation and that the failure to complete the final submission step should not result in the candidates being excluded.

The IEC disputed this, maintaining that capturing, uploading or saving candidate information did not amount to formal submission and that the ANC had failed to complete the required process before the deadline.

The issue was also contested by the DA, which argued that allowing the ANC to submit the affected candidates after the deadline would undermine the fairness and certainty of the electoral process.

The Electoral Court has now granted the DA leave to intervene.

The ANC had opposed the DA's intervention, with secretary-general Fikile Mbalula arguing that the DA had no legal interest in its dispute with the IEC.

Following Wednesday’s judgment, the ANC called on its members and supporters to remain disciplined while its legal representatives consider the next steps.

“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 court ruling, the ANC said it remained committed to contesting the 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.”