PRETORIA, Gauteng — The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has officially finalized the candidate list for the upcoming November 4 local government elections, a major administrative milestone achieved on the same day the Electoral Court dismissed the African National Congress (ANC)’s legal bid to reinstate 181 of its candidates.
The court’s decision centers on the ANC’s failure to formally submit its nominations by the August 28 deadline for six municipalities. While the party initially attributed the failure to technical glitches within the IEC’s online submission system, the Electoral Court ruled the missed deadline as a definitive legal fact rather than a reviewable administrative mistake.
Despite the legal setback, the ANC has indicated it will exercise its legal rights and pursue appropriate appeal processes. For now, however, the court order provides the IEC with the operational certainty needed to move ahead with final preparations for election day.
According to the commission, an unprecedented 136,790 candidates have satisfied statutory requirements to contest seats across eight metropolitan, 44 district, and 205 local municipalities nationwide. During mandatory statutory checks, more than 5,000 candidates were disqualified. The IEC also issued notices regarding 550 candidates who were simultaneously nominated as independents and party nominees, or by multiple parties. These dual-nomination notices implicated 203 political parties and 2,028 independent candidates.
Political researcher Ebrahim Fakir analyzed the unfolding situation, noting that the ANC’s narrative shifted during the legal proceedings from blaming a technical glitch to arguing the legal merit of having uploaded the candidate names without clicking the final “submit” button. Fakir pointed out that IEC system usage logs showed no downtime and indicated that the party was still uploading data minutes before the actual deadline.
According to Fakir, the root cause of the delay likely stems from deep-seated internal divisions and factionalization within the ANC, which hindered agreement on candidate lists. He emphasized that former President Kgalema Motlanthe, who presided over the party’s electoral processes, had explicitly warned the ANC months in advance about the looming deadline, urging leadership to finalize their preparations.
The issue of missed deadlines extends beyond a single party. Over 2,200 candidates across 45 political parties failed to finalize their submissions. Fakir warned that this widespread non-compliance reflects a broader political culture of avoiding accountability and externalizing blame onto independent administrators like the IEC. He noted that this sustained scapegoating has contributed to a steady decline in public trust in democratic institutions, despite the IEC and the Constitutional Court historically maintaining high levels of public confidence.
The political consequences for the ANC include lower representation in the affected municipalities. In wards where candidates were not successfully registered, the party cannot legally contest, potentially forcing them to endorse independent or like-minded candidates to maintain political influence. Fakir cautioned that this power vacuum could lead to intensified internal battles, bureaucratic obstructionism, and potential destabilization in local councils, as the stakes for municipal control remain high.
Looking ahead, the next major electoral milestone is the September 23 ballot paper draw, where political parties will also formally sign the electoral code of conduct. The IEC is currently testing its results system, with political parties scheduled to be granted access to the system between October 5 and October 12, as the commission enters the final stretch of preparations for the November polls.
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