IEC gives 32 parties another chance to contest 4 November elections

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) will give 32 additional political parties an opportunity to submit their final candidate lists for the 4 November local government elections following the Constitutional Court’s ruling on 181 African National Congress (ANC) candidates.

This week, the Constitutional Court set aside the IEC’s decision, previously upheld by the Electoral Court, to reject the ANC’s candidate lists because the party had failed to click the “Submit as Final” button on the Commission’s online system.

The court also ordered the IEC to take the necessary steps to include the affected candidates on the ballots in six municipalities.

IEC TO IMPLEMENT CONCOURT RULING FOR OTHER PARTIES

The Constitutional Court’s order requires the IEC to include 181 ANC candidates, comprising 51 ward candidates and 130 proportional representation (PR) candidates, across six municipalities.

The Commission said it had put processes in place to implement the court order, adding that it had a constitutional obligation to ensure that elections are free and fair. It said part of this responsibility was to treat all political parties contesting the elections equally.

The IEC said it had identified 32 other political parties that were in a similar position to the ANC. These parties had intended to contest the elections in 121 municipalities across the country.

“Their intended participation involved all three ballot types: metro, local, and district. As with the ANC, these parties had nominated compliant candidates and paid election deposits but had not submitted their final candidate lists.

“Consistent with the constitutional imperative for free and fair elections as well as the importance of upholding the inherent principle of parity of treatment, the Commission has resolved that the thirty-two (32) similarly situated parties must be deemed to have lawfully submitted their candidates. The Commission’s view is that it would be irrational and offensive to the principle of parity of treatment to exclude parties similarly situated to the ANC. The Commission emphasises that the inclusion of parties was made judiciously and solely for the purpose of advancing free and fair elections demanded by the Constitution,” the IEC said.

The Commission said the number of eligible parties was determined following compliance checks.

It found that 13 other parties did not meet the requirements for their candidate lists to be considered lawfully submitted, even after the Constitutional Court’s ruling was extended to similarly situated parties.

The outstanding requirements included payment of election deposits and compliance with voter registration requirements for the municipalities in which they intended to contest.

The IEC said it would contact all 32 parties to confirm whether they still intended to participate in the 4 November local government elections.

Parties that confirm their participation will be given an opportunity to comply with candidate nomination requirements and, where necessary, supplement or substitute candidates whose names appear on multiple lists. The candidates will then receive certificates confirming their candidacy.

The Commission said these processes would be completed within a shortened timeframe and would be limited to the 33 parties involved, including the ANC.

IMPLICATIONS FOR BALLOT PRINTING

The IEC said extending the Constitutional Court’s order to the 32 additional parties would affect 107 municipalities.

It estimated that 33 million ballots would be required to accommodate the changes, with 27 million already printed.

However, the Commission said 6.6 million ballots had yet to be printed. These included ballots for the six municipalities affected by the ANC’s court appeal.

The IEC said it had delayed printing ballots for the six municipalities until the Constitutional Court delivered its judgment.

“In other words, no costs were incurred in relation to ballots affecting these six municipalities,” the Commission said.