By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has collapsed after delivering an emotional address following the party’s Constitutional Court victory.
The Constitutional Court upheld the ANC’s appeal against the exclusion of 181 of its candidates from the local government elections. The ruling paves the way for the candidates to be included on the ballot paper.
ANC members who were in court celebrated the victory, while an emotional Mbalula broke down in tears as he expressed relief at the ruling.
During a subsequent media briefing, Mbalula, who was visibly sweating, said he was not feeling well before slumping.
Reporters were asked to switch off their cameras as the incident unfolded.
Before the incident, Mbalula had said the party had used lawful channels to challenge the decision, describing the right to vote as a fundamental constitutional right that should not be determined by a technical requirement on an online system. “When this movement believed that a right had been taken from our people, we walked up this hill with papers in our hands,” Mbalula said.
The ruling has also raised questions about the ANC’s relationship with the Democratic Alliance (DA), which opposed the appeal. Mbalula said the ANC would need to review its continued participation with the DA in the Government of National Unity (GNU), questioning whether the two parties remained aligned on the principles outlined in the GNU’s statement of intent.
“If any one of us works against it, that Parliament is too big. We must look for other partners,” he said, adding that nothing bound the ANC to remain in the GNU with the DA indefinitely. Mbalula stressed that the proposed review was a question of principle rather than an attempt to force the DA into agreement with the ANC on every issue.”
He also defended the party’s legal challenge, arguing that the ANC was not seeking special treatment but recognition of nominations it maintained had been uploaded to the IEC system.
He acknowledged that the party faced internal challenges, including alleged interference with candidate lists, which he said were being investigated.
The DA opposed the appeal, while the IEC argued that the ANC had been warned its lists were not final and had missed the deadline. The court also accepted the IEC’s late answering affidavit, made no costs order and said its reasons would follow. Now the IEC must fit 181 ANC candidates back into ballot paper and the rest of the election machinery.