By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IECSA) will provide a relief to 32 political parties to submit candidate lists after extending a Constitutional Court ruling reinstating African National Congress (ANC) candidates in six municipalities.
The announcement was made by IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya on Friday, following the Constitutional Court ruling ordering the IEC to include 181 ANC candidates who were initially excluded during the registration process.
“The Electoral Commission has noted and accepted the Constitutional Court’s ruling and directive regarding the African National Congress and the submission of its candidate lists for the 2026 local government elections.”
“The Constitutional Court order requires the Commission to include 181 candidates, that is, 51 ward and 130 proportional representation candidates across six municipalities.”
“The Commission has already put in place processes to give effect to this judicial injunction,” he said.
Moepya said the IEC has a constitutional duty to treat all electoral contestants fairly and consistently. The other parties had nominated compliant candidates and paid their election deposits but had not submitted their final candidate lists.
He said the IEC has a constitutional obligation to ensure that all elections it administers meet the highest standards of freeness and fairness in the Republic.
“Part of that constitutional duty is even-handedness in the treatment of electoral contestants across the board. The Commission recognises that 32 other similarly situated political parties intended to contest against the ANC.”
“These 32 other political parties intended to contest in 121 municipalities. It’s, in fact, 121 local municipalities across the nation.”
“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 32 similarly situated parties must be deemed to have lawfully submitted their candidates,” Moepya said.
He said the Commission believes it would be irrational and contrary to the principle of equal treatment to exclude parties in a similar position to the ANC.
“The Commission emphasises that the inclusion of parties was made judiciously and solely for the purposes of advancing free and fair elections demanded by our Constitution.”
The IEC also noted that 13 other political parties had failed to meet the requirements for the lawful submission of candidates, even after the Constitutional Court order was extended to them.
Moepya said 33 million ballots would have to be produced to accommodate the extension of the court order. He added that the changes affect six municipalities whose ballots were impacted by the ANC’s appeal to the Constitutional Court.
The IEC chairperson said the process would be expedited and limited to the 32 parties concerned.
“At the moment, the Commission does not anticipate that these developments will affect November 4, 2026, election date. However, it is apparent that our logistical preparations have been significantly affected.”
“The logistical operations, therefore, will now have to be conducted within a very truncated period and under very strict supervision,” he said.
Moepya reiterated the IEC’s commitment to upholding the rule of law, including respecting court decisions, and said the Commission remained resolute in ensuring that political parties were treated fairly and consistently in the administration of the electoral process.
The Commission will contact all 32 political parties to confirm whether they still intend to participate in the 4 November Local Government Elections.