By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) intends to challenge the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) over its Online Candidate Nomination system.
The ANC missed the IEC 28 August deadline to successfully finalise hundreds of nominated councillor candidates in some Eastern Cape and Free State municipalities, with the party blaming technical glitches during the submission process.
However, the IEC has rejected claims that its system malfunctioned, saying the platform operated as designed and that political parties had been given access to it since June. It’s also been adamant that it won’t accommodate parties that made late submissions.
The IEC has said about 2,300 candidates from 45 political parties were captured on the system but not finally submitted before the 5pm deadline, meaning they could not be accepted under the electoral process.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said during the ANC campaign in Tembisa, the party could pursue several avenues, including engagement with the IEC, its Political Party Liaison Committee, and the Electoral Court.
“The Political Party Liaison Committee, as well as the IEC and the parties themselves, will be able to find a solution. I do believe that a solution should be at hand, said Ramaphosa.”
Ramaphosa maintained that the problem was caused by technical glitches: “There were glitches with regards to just the interface with the IEC system.”
He insisted that the ANC had correctly submitted all of its candidate lists nationally.
“The candidates list was there for the whole country. They were submitted and in regard to those areas, there were some glitches.”
Ramaphosa also pointed out that the ANC was not the only party affected. He said he expected a solution to be found so that voters were not prevented from choosing candidates.
Meanwhile ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe said the party will continue owning up to its mistakes and tell voters about its intended remedial actions. He maintains that the ANC remains the only party with a clear programme leading up to the November 4 polls.