By Anita Dangazele
- The Electoral Court has dismissed the ANC’s appeal over 181 candidates excluded from the local government elections.
- The court also granted the DA leave to intervene in the case, while the ANC says it will pursue a further appeal.
The Electoral Court has dismissed the ANC’s challenge against the Electoral Commission over 181 candidates excluded from the 4 November local government elections, but the party says it will appeal the ruling.
The dispute centred on whether candidate information the ANC had loaded onto the IEC’s online nomination system before the 28 August deadline counted as formally submitted, even though the party had not completed the system’s final submission step.
The IEC maintained that capturing or uploading information isn’t the same as formally submitting it, and that the ANC simply didn’t complete the process in time.
The court dismissed the ANC’s appeal and granted the DA leave to intervene in the matter. A separate bid by the African Transformation Movement to intervene was rejected, with the court finding it had been brought too late and without the right application. No costs order was made against either side.
The 181 affected candidates span 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.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said in a statement on Wednesday that the party will pursue further legal options.
“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,” she said.
The party maintained it was not seeking special treatment, saying the case was about the legal status of information it says was already captured on the IEC’s system before the deadline.
Bhengu called on ANC members to stay calm while the party’s lawyers consider next steps, and said the party remains committed to contesting the elections regardless of the outcome.
“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,” she said.
Pictured above: The Electoral Court has ruled against the ANC in the fight over 181 election candidate lists.
Image source: Supplied
