The African National Congress has won a major legal battle against the Electoral Commission of South Africa, with the Constitutional Court ruling in its favour in a dispute over 181 of its candidates who were excluded from contesting the upcoming local government elections. At the centre of this dispute was a crucial final step on the IEC’s online nomination system. The ANC had uploaded its candidates’ details and paid the required deposits, but failed to click the “submit as final” button before the deadline. The IEC rejected the nominations, and the Electoral Court initially upheld that decision.
The ANC then took the matter to the country’s highest court, arguing that a technical requirement on an online system should not prevent its candidates from contesting the elections. The Constitutional Court has now ordered the IEC to take the necessary steps to include the affected candidates on the ballot papers ahead of the November 4 elections. But what does this judgment mean for the enforcement of electoral deadlines, the independence of the IEC and the principle that all political parties must play by the same rules? And does this ruling resolve the controversy, or does it raise further questions about the ANC’s candidate nomination process? We discuss the implications of this
landmark decision.