IEC's Decision to Reopen Candidate Registrations Result in Negative Reactions

• Multiple political parties will go to court in an attempt to stop the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)’s decision to reopen the candidate registration process
• The IEC’s decision comes after the Constitutional Court instructed the municipal elections to commence between 27 October and 1 November
• The IEC shared that the choice made to reopen candidate registrations was their only choice as they felt the need to respect the rights of the voters

Multiple oppositions will take to the court in an effort to try to halt the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)’s choice to reopen the candidate registration process before the local government elections.

The news comes from a ConCourt ruling that the municipal elections be held between 27 October and 1 November. It also advised that voters' registrations should begin.

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The IEC has expressed that the decision made involving the upcoming elections was the only option as they felt respecting of voters and their rights was the main priority.

John Steenhuisen leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called the actions of the commission reckless, according to EWN.

Following reports by SABC News, the IEC spoke to the media on Monday, 6 September, regarding candidate nominations since the since the highest court in the land rejected the push back of the elections.

ANC takes IEC to Electoral Court over failed registration of 30 ward candidates

Previously, Briefly News the African National Congress said approached the Electoral Court to reopen the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)'s nomination process for candidates just before the start of the local government elections.

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The IEC reportedly closed its systems on the evening of Monday, 23 August, after opening to parties on 3 August. Although there were 20 days, the ANC raised a complaint that they faced a number of challenges which saw 30 ward candidates excluded. They did not appear on the voter register.

According to EWN, the ruling party stated that the challenges it faced were beyond its control; this is regarding the uploading of a candidates' list. The party's Deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte briefed the media about the above on Thursday, 26 August.

Duarte told journalists that the ANC was worried about a number of issues which included the rejecting of the 30 candidates by the IEC's system. Duarte explained that they were not properly registered in their wards, therefore, the system did not register them on the system.

Source: Briefly News