ANC Takes Candidate Registration Blunder to Constitutional Court on 7 October

• The ANC faces exclusion from ballot papers in six municipalities after failing to complete a final submission step on the IEC's digital portal before the 28 August deadline
• The Electoral Court dismissed the party's appeal, ruling that missing the mandatory system step invalidated 181 councillor nominations
• The Constitutional Court is set to hear the matter on 7 October 2026, with the ANC's local government representation hanging in the balance

SOUTH AFRICA — The African National Congress is headed to the Constitutional Court after an administrative oversight left 181 councillor candidates excluded from ballot papers across six municipalities.

According to SABC News, the crisis stems from the party's failure to complete the final step on the Independent Electoral Commission's digital portal before the 28 August submission deadline. Although ANC officials uploaded the required candidate documentation, they did not select "submit as final" within the system before the cutoff. The Electoral Court dismissed the party's subsequent appeal, ruling that the omission of this mandatory step rendered the nominations invalid.

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IEC confirms court date

IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo confirmed that the Constitutional Court will hear the matter on 7 October 2026. The consequences are most severe in two Eastern Cape strongholds. In Port St Johns and Ngquza Hill, the ANC failed to finalise both ward and proportional representation (PR) candidate lists, leaving the party with no candidates on the ballot whatsoever. In four further municipalities — Mangaung, uMshwathi, Walter Sisulu, and Sundays River Valley — the party has been stripped of its PR candidate lists.

The ANC argues that uploading the required documentation constitutes substantial compliance with electoral regulations, and that the omission of the final electronic step should not be treated as a fatal defect. The IEC, however, insists that system procedures apply equally to all political parties without exception, and that no special dispensation can be made.

Constitutional Court to decide the party's fate

The apex court hearing on 7 October will determine whether the ANC's interpretation of "substantial compliance" holds legal weight, or whether the IEC's strict procedural position stands. A ruling in the commission's favour would cement the party's exclusion from those ballot papers, with significant implications for its representation at the local government level in areas that have historically been ANC territory.

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Fikile Mbalula dragged to court

In a related article, Briefly News reported on ANC NEC member Andile Lungisa’s urgent court challenge against his removal from the party’s proportional representation candidate list. The case names ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula and centres on administrative errors that excluded 252 candidates from the final rolls.

Lungisa had been considered for a mayoral contest in Nelson Mandela Bay before the omission disrupted his political ambitions. Despite receiving alternative offers from an opposition grouping, he rejected them and chose to remain within the ANC while pursuing reinstatement through the courts.

Source: Briefly News