By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) NEC member Andile Lungisa has taken the party and secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to court after being removed as the party’s mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
Lungisa is shortlisted alongside the current mayor Babalwa Lobishe, business analyst Xolani Vela, and the party’s deputy regional secretary, Nontombi Nama.
He has filed an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. The papers were filed by his legal representative, Makangela Mtungani.
Mbalula is listed as the first respondent and the ANC is second respondent.
In his court papers, he claims Mbalula personally ordered his omission and seeks a court order declaring his exclusion unlawful and compelling his immediate reinstatement on the IEC candidate list.
Lungisa argues that changes to finalized lists require an 80% agreement from the extended NEC on serious grounds, meaning Mbalula acted beyond his powers.
The dispute arises amid wider candidate list disputes and procedural challenges across several municipalities, in the Eastern Cape, Free State and Kwazulu-Natal.
Mbalula has been under enormous pressure, with senior party leaders demanding answers over omissions that could affect the ANC’s prospects in key municipalities ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
The controversy emerged after the ANC announced last week that it had been unable to capture all its candidates on the IEC’s system due to what it described as a technical glitch
However, the issue has become increasingly contentious after the IEC publicly denied that its system experienced any technical problems.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo, in his affidavit, set out how the ANC was alerted to the approaching deadline, with correspondence showing that the party received automated reminders. The affidavit also refers to IEC guidelines warning administrators of the importance of submitting a candidate list as final.
Mamabolo said he denied the “bald assertion” that the ANC encountered technical difficulties with the Online Candidate Nomination System (OCNS) that prevented the party from pressing the “submit as final” button for the affected submissions.
The dispute is now before the Electoral Court, with the ANC asking the court to declare that its lists in the six councils were submitted timeously and validly.