Lungani Zungu
The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the local government elections should go ahead between 27 October and 1 November.
The ruling is a major blow for the ANC, which has failed to register its candidates in 100 of the 257 municipal councils.
Deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte says the party would be adversely affected in 36 municipalities.
The ruling party cited technical glitches as the reason it failed to submit its full candidate list, rejecting suggestions it was in chaos because it had run out of money to pay staff.
The party went to the Electoral Court to have the IEC reopen its lists submission but then withdrew the application earlier this week ahead of the court’s decision.
The ANC is expected to announce its way forward at a special National Executive Committee meeting the party is holding this weekend.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) went to the Constitutional Court seeking to postpone the election until next February due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was in line with the recommendations of former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke’s inquiry, which concluded that the elections would not be free and fair if they were held this year.
The Constitutional Court also ruled that the IEC should – within three calendar days – decide whether it is practically possible to hold a voter registration week.
The DA, IFP and EFF have welcomed the ruling.
Helen Zille, the chairperson of the DA’s Federal Council, got it wrong when she tweeted this week: “The ANC’s withdrawal from the Electoral Court indicates that they have been tipped off that the IEC’s application to postpone the election was successful. If information is leaking from the Concourt to the ANC, it is nothing short of a Constitutional crisis.”
