JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The African National Congress (ANC) is challenging the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) decision to exclude 181 of its candidates from the upcoming local government elections, taking the dispute to the Electoral Court. The legal battle over the ANC candidate list has raised significant questions about the party’s electoral strategy, internal cohesion, and the integrity of the electoral process as the November polls approach.
According to party officials, the ANC lodged 9,128 candidates for the upcoming local government elections, with 8,947 officially accepted by the IEC. This acceptance rate secures the party’s presence in 97% of wards and ensures proportional representation lists cover 90% of the available seats. However, the exclusion of the remaining 181 candidates has prompted the party to seek legal recourse, even as ANC leadership insists its campaign will continue uninterrupted despite the ongoing dispute.
Nkosikhulule Nyembezi, a Policy Analyst at the Election Monitoring Network, highlighted that the dispute places the ANC at both an internal and external disadvantage. Internally, the party must now explain the composition of the list to the electorate, particularly amid complaints that names were amended at the national level to disadvantage candidates originally nominated at the branch level. Nyembezi noted that this centralization of the candidate selection process has exacerbated internal jostling for power, especially given the oversupply of candidates across South Africa’s 230-plus municipalities.
Externally, the legal uncertainty means there may be wards where the ANC will not be contesting if the Electoral Court rules that the party failed to meet the statutory deadline. ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has publicly stated that the party is approaching the Electoral Court and will respect whatever decision emerges, signaling a willingness to accept the outcome even if it goes against the party’s interests.
The dispute also complicates the ANC’s relationship with its alliance partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP), which is contesting the elections independently. Nyembezi pointed out that if ANC candidates are excluded, the party may be forced to amend its stance on disciplining members who campaign for or vote for SACP candidates, a move that could further blur internal political lines.
The complexity of the situation has drawn criticism regarding the party’s preparation. Despite the ANC’s electoral committee being chaired by former Secretary General Kgalema Motlanthe, an elder statesman with deep institutional knowledge, the party still grappled with last-minute submission issues. Nyembezi attributed this to procrastination, noting that President Cyril Ramaphosa had already announced the November 4 election date during the February State of the Nation Address, providing parties with ample time for compliance.
This is not an isolated incident in South Africa’s electoral history. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) faced a similar deadline dispute in 2009, which saw the Supreme Court of Appeal reverse an IEC decision regarding election deposits and submission timelines. In 2011, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) missed a deadline due to helicopter weather conditions, and the National Freedom Party (NFP) later failed to submit all of its candidate names, resulting in their exclusion from municipal contests. Furthermore, during Jacob Zuma’s presidency, similar candidate list disputes led to the formation of a high-level task team led by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to address post-election dissatisfaction.
As the Electoral Court prepares to hear the matter, the IEC finds itself in a delicate catch-22. Ruling in favor of the ANC could invite accusations of favoritism, especially since opposing political parties have already warned the commission against bending the rules to accommodate the ruling party’s demands.
Ultimately, Nyembezi emphasized that constitutional principles must prevail. The right to free and fair elections applies to all South African citizens, and strict deadlines are necessary to ensure that elections are conducted uniformly on the same day. Allowing ad hoc exceptions for non-compliant parties, he warned, would set a dangerous precedent for the integrity of South Africa’s democratic process.
