BUFFALO CITY, EASTERN CAPE — The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is preparing to challenge the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in court over alleged candidate list omissions ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections. UDM Deputy President Nqabayomzi Kwankwa confirmed that the party will file legal papers next week after its ward councillor candidates for the Buffalo City Metro were excluded from the certified list released by the IEC on Wednesday.
Currently, Kwankwa, who also serves as the party’s mayoral candidate for Buffalo City, appears as the sole UDM representative on the metro’s certified candidate roster. The party maintains that its candidate list submissions for the Buffalo City Metro municipality were completed well within the stipulated deadline, suggesting that technical glitches within the IEC’s systems may be responsible for the exclusion.
However, the party did acknowledge missing the submission deadline for the Dr AB Xuma Local Municipality. Kwankwa attributed this specific delay to ongoing protests at Ngcobo, which restricted movement and severely compromised internet connectivity in certain rural areas. Despite this concession, the UDM remains confident that the judicial system will resolve the broader dispute in their favor.
“We have been in this position before and are fully capable of getting these matters resolved,” Kwankwa stated. “We have no doubt in our minds that we played our part and did what we were supposed to do. When we go to court, we are going to be vindicated.” He expressed strong confidence in the country’s judicial system to review the complaints with an objective mind and hold the party accountable only if any genuine errors were made.
Beyond the immediate legal challenge, UDM leadership directed criticism at the IEC for allegedly failing to address recurring technical challenges faced by political parties during the registration process. Kwankwa emphasized that electoral systems must not remain overly rigid when technical difficulties arise during data capturing. He called for a broader discussion on simplifying the process to ensure meaningful public participation, particularly for independent candidates who may lack the massive technological infrastructure required to navigate complex digital systems.
“If you are going to require massive infrastructure to be able to get onto the IEC system, it serves no purpose,” Kwankwa noted, adding that the current framework might need to be reviewed.
In response to the allegations, the IEC has firmly maintained that it experienced no server functional downtime on the closing date for candidate list submissions and has indicated it will not be making any exceptions to the established rules.
Meanwhile, the UDM clarified that its decision not to submit a proportional representation (PR) candidate list for the upcoming 4th November local government elections is a deliberate strategic move, separate from the ongoing technical disputes over ward councillor nominations.
