By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Electoral Court will hand down judgment in the African National Congress (ANC) challenge against the Electoral Commission (IEC) over 181 candidate submissions on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.
The ANC has told the court that the details of all the 181 candidates affected by it missing the IEC’s deadline were already captured by the system at the hour of cut-off.
Arguing on behalf of the ANC, Advocate Daniel Berger suggested the actions required to be taken to constitute a submission were not clearly defined.
“The commission’s position is that because you did not click the button, as a matter of law, you are excluded from the election.
“So, their position is informed by their interpretation of the law. They have made a decision that we are disqualified from participating in the election because we have failed to click the button.”
“We are asking this court to interpret the Municipal Electoral Act and to declare that the ANC complied with the election timetable in respect of the six municipalities and to direct the commission to process the ANC’s compliant nominations in those six municipalities,”
“We are not asking this court to condone non-compliance. We are not asking this court to direct the commission to condone non-compliance,” said Burger.
He asserted that the submission cut-off was not a definitive deadline, adding that the IEC’s stance would infringe on the rights of voters.
The IEC on the other hand dismissed the party’s argument saying the party understood the rule and knew very well that there was no glitch at the point of submission.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) also argued that their application to intervene and the merits of the case where they seek to bend the rules of candidate submission for the upcoming election.
The DA’s legal team argued that deadlines are deadlines, and that the ANC’s internal operational failures should not be excused.
“The decision this court will make will determine whether hundreds of thousands of people will be deprived of an electoral choice on 4 November.”
Judge Lebogang Modiba stated that the panel would require time to confer on the matter.
“Let me assure you that it is not an easy matter; it is a difficult matter. But we found that the effort that you’ve put into preparing for the hearing has really assisted us.”
“We are reserving our judgement, we are adjourning the court to deliberate. Most likely we will hand down an order, at the latest first thing in the morning tomorrow, Judge Modiba said.”