PRETORIA, GAUTENG — The ANC is taking the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to the Constitutional Court over the 181 excluded councillor candidates, setting the stage for a critical legal battle ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
The dispute centers on the party’s failure to submit the required candidate details on the IEC’s portal before the strict 28 August deadline. Following the missed deadline, the candidates were rejected from the official electoral list. The ANC initially appealed the decision at the Electoral Court, but the appeal was dismissed. The matter has now been escalated to the apex court, with a hearing scheduled for 7 October, just weeks before the local government polls on 4 November.
Sandile Mnguni, a Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, notes that the escalation to the Constitutional Court underscores the high stakes for the governing party. According to Mnguni, the move highlights the ANC’s deep concern over its inclusion in the upcoming elections, especially in light of declining electoral support observed during the 2024 national elections.
He argues that the dispute is as much a political issue as it is a legal one. The party is attempting to use the legal avenue to renew itself, project unity, and redeem its public image amid a broader decline in voter confidence.
However, Mnguni cautions that fighting the battle in the apex court is unlikely to resolve the party’s internal fractures or halt the ongoing “blame game” surrounding the administrative blunder. He emphasizes that the core issue is internal readiness and governance.
“If the party is not ready to submit the required documentation and information on the candidate side, is it ready to govern?” Mnguni posed, suggesting that the administrative failure points to deeper systemic issues within the organization that a court ruling cannot fix.
When addressing who should take responsibility for the missed deadline, Mnguni sides with the concept of “collective responsibility” rather than singling out one individual. While some have pointed the finger at the party’s Secretary General—who recently stated that the party’s position is one of collective responsibility—Mnguni agrees that the entire organization should have been more vigilant in tracking deadlines and fulfilling internal processes.
As the Constitutional Court prepares to hear the case, Mnguni outlines the key considerations the justices will likely weigh. The central debate will revolve around the concept and weight of “submission.” The court will need to examine whether the ANC’s claimed submission was actually received on the IEC’s system, or if the failure was due to technical glitches on the IEC’s portal, a claim the IEC has previously denied based on its own evidence.
Furthermore, Mnguni highlights that the apex court will heavily consider the principle of equality and fairness. The justices must decide whether allowing the ANC to submit its 181 candidates late would be unfair to the other political parties that successfully met the 28 August deadline. Ultimately, the court will determine whether the exclusion of these candidates aligns with the Constitution, balancing the technicalities of electoral submissions against the broader democratic principle of a level playing field.
