The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled in favour of the African National Congress (ANC) in its dispute with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), setting aside an Electoral Court decision that had excluded 181 of the party's council candidates from the 4 November local government elections.

The court directed the IEC to take all steps necessary to include the candidates on ballot papers and in other election processes. It said it would give its reasons at a later stage.

What the court ordered

The court granted the ANC's appeal, overturned the Electoral Court's finding that the party had not complied with the IEC's rules for submitting candidate lists electronically, and directed the IEC to include the nominations on ballots. It also condoned the IEC's late filing of its answering affidavit, according to published coverage of the order.

The municipalities affected are Sundays River Valley, Walter Sisulu, Ngquza Hill and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal and the Mangaung metro in the Free State. Justice Rammaka Mathopo is reported to have handed down the order, saying: "The reasons for this order shall be given at a later stage." Ballots in the six municipalities are reported to need reprinting.

How the dispute arose

The ANC uploaded candidate details to the IEC's online nomination system but did not press the "submit as final" button before the August deadline. The IEC argued that the lists were therefore never validly submitted. After the deadline, the IEC said 45 parties had captured details for 2,274 candidates without submitting them as final.

The Electoral Court dismissed the ANC's appeal on 16 September, and the IEC confirmed the exclusion of the candidates on 23 September, according to published headlines. The Constitutional Court heard the matter on Monday 12 October.

ANC counsel Daniel Berger argued that the final-submission button was not a legal requirement and that the data was loaded before the deadline. In its answering affidavit, the IEC said the Municipal Electoral Act gave it power to set how lists are submitted, that the nomination system has been used since 2016 and that the ANC had used it before. The Democratic Alliance (DA) intervened and opposed the ANC's position.

What it means for 4 November, and for the GNU

The IEC must implement the order before polling day on 4 November. No specific deadline for reprinting has been reported.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, speaking at Constitution Hill, said the party used lawful channels and that the right to vote should not hinge on a technical requirement. He also said the ANC would need to review its continued participation in the Government of National Unity (GNU) with the DA, which opposed the appeal. He questioned whether the parties still agreed on the GNU's statement of intent and said nothing bound the ANC to stay in the GNU indefinitely. He described the review as a matter of principle, not a demand that the DA agree on every issue.

Mbalula also acknowledged internal problems in the party, including alleged interference with candidate lists, which he said were being investigated.

Separately, the Gauteng High Court ruled on 9 October that ANC national executive member Andile Lungisa was wrongfully removed from Eastern Cape lists and ordered his reinstatement.

What we do not yet know

  • The court's reasons, which it says will follow. Until then it is unclear how it treated the "final button" requirement or the IEC's powers to set submission rules.
  • The exact list of municipalities. One report names Eastern Cape and Free State only, another names Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mangaung; the list above follows the more detailed report and needs confirming against the order.
  • Whether the 2,274 candidates of the 45 other parties that were captured but not submitted as final can use the ruling, and how it affects them.
  • Whether ballots can be reprinted and distributed in time, and what the IEC says; we have not seen a response from the commission or the DA.
  • Mbalula's GNU remarks come from a single report and need a second confirmation, including what review process, if any, the ANC has begun.