Constitutional court considers ANC appeal over exclusion of 181 municipal election candidates

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JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s Constitutional Court has reserved judgment in an appeal by the African National Congress (ANC) challenging the exclusion of 181 of its candidates from the country’s November 4 municipal elections, in a case that raises questions about the balance between electoral procedures and political participation.

The court heard the ANC’s application on Monday, October 12, after the Electoral Court dismissed the party’s challenge to the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) decision to reject the nominations across six municipalities.

At the centre of the dispute is a final submission step in the IEC’s online candidate nomination system. Although the ANC had uploaded the candidates’ information, it failed to click the “submit as final” button before the August 28 deadline.

Representing the ANC, lawyer Daniel Berger argued that the requirement to complete this additional step was not expressly provided for in the Municipal Electoral Act or its regulations. The party maintains that excluding the candidates on procedural grounds risks limiting voters’ choices and undermining the constitutional right to political participation.

The IEC, however, has argued that final submission is essential to validate nominations and ensure that all political parties are subject to the same deadlines and requirements. It maintains that the system was operational and that the rules were necessary to preserve the integrity and orderly administration of the electoral process.

In its September ruling, the Electoral Court rejected the ANC’s challenge, finding that the final submission requirement had to be met and that the applicable deadlines could not simply be waived.

A ruling in the ANC’s favour could allow the affected candidates to be reconsidered, potentially changing the electoral contest in the six municipalities concerned. However, the Constitutional Court has yet to announce its decision, and the outcome remains uncertain.

The case has drawn attention to a broader question for South Africa’s electoral system: how to enforce clear and uniform nomination procedures without unnecessarily restricting political representation and voters’ ability to choose their local leaders.

With municipal elections scheduled for November 4, the Constitutional Court’s decision could have significant implications for the ANC’s campaign and for the interpretation of electoral rules in future contests.