ANC to appeal Electoral Court ruling over 181 excluded candidates

The African National Congress (ANC) is taking its fight over 181 candidates excluded from the local government election ballot to the next level.

The party says it will appeal an Electoral Court ruling dismissing its application to have the candidates from six municipalities included in the IEC’s Online Candidate Nomination System after the 28 August deadline.

The ANC approached the court earlier this month, seeking an extension after arguing that technical difficulties had prevented it from completing its final submissions before the deadline.

During Tuesday’s virtual hearing, however, the IEC disputed the claim that a system “glitch” was to blame.

The IEC’s legal representative, Senior Counsel Terry Motau, told the court that the ANC understood the nomination rules and had complied with them for most of its submissions, but ran out of time in six municipalities.

“It is clear that there were no glitches, and secondly, it is here that the ANC knew the framework for submission of nominations,” Motau said.

The ANC’s advocate, Xenophon “Naki” Stylianou, argued that the commission should have accepted the candidate information and documentation already captured on the system before the deadline.

However, Professor Moses Phooko, challenged this, pointing out that information loaded onto the system can still be changed until the final submission. 

The IEC’s Advocate, Michael Bishop, argued that the law requires nominations to be submitted to the commission or Chief Electoral Officer in the prescribed manner, with the relevant regulations providing for submission through the online nomination system.

ANC National spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, maintains that the party is not asking for preferential treatment, but for what it considers a fair approach to the affected candidates.

“This matter is not about seeking preferential treatment for the ANC, nor about asking the Electoral Commission to change the rules for the benefit of our organisation,” Bhengu said.

The Electoral Court ultimately dismissed the ANC’s application, meaning the 181 candidates will remain excluded from the 4 November local government elections unless the appeal succeeds.

IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, welcomed the decision, saying the judgment provides greater clarity on the rules governing the submission of candidate nominations.

The EFF’s Statement on the Electoral Court’s Dismissal of the ANC’s Application Against the IEC

-South Africans should read this ruling for what it is: further confirmation that the ANC is not fit to be trusted with the basic administrative competence required to run local… pic.twitter.com/7Saek17EmC

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) September 16, 2026

Already your leaders have said it was a sabotage by some members of the ANC,so it has nothing to do with the glitches on the side of IEC,even the courts are aware.

— Mpumelelo Luvuno (@MpumeleloL69438) September 16, 2026

If the ANC is serious they should be sacking those responsible for uploading the names and candidates into the IEC portal. But you can see how unserious they’re by going to court and wasting public funds.

— Charles (@mr_charleseze) September 16, 2026