The African National Congress (ANC) has won its legal battle against the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), with the Constitutional Court ordering the commission to take the necessary steps to include 181 of the party’s candidates in the upcoming local government elections.
The order was delivered by Justice Rammaka Mathopo on Thursday, 15 October 2026, after the ANC challenged the exclusion of its candidates from six municipalities.
The dispute arose after the IEC rejected the party’s candidate nominations because the final submission process on its online nomination system had not been completed before the deadline.
The ANC challenged the decision after the Electoral Court ruled against the party.The Constitutional Court subsequently granted the ANC leave to appeal and set aside the earlier decision, directing the IEC to take the necessary steps to include the affected candidates in the electoral process.
FOUR EASTERN CAPE MUNICIPALITIES AFFECTED
The ruling affects six municipalities across three provinces, including four in the Eastern Cape.
The affected Eastern Cape municipalities are:Ngquza Hill Local MunicipalityPort St Johns Local MunicipalityWalter Sisulu Local MunicipalitySundays River Valley Local Municipality
The other affected municipalities are uMshwathi Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal and Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State.
The ruling is particularly significant for Ngquza Hill and Port St Johns, where the exclusion of the ANC candidates had left the party without candidates in the affected municipal contests.
The court’s decision allows the affected nominations to be included in the relevant electoral processes, subject to the implementation of its order.
WHY THE ANC TOOK THE IEC TO COURT
The dispute centred on the ANC’s failure to complete the final submission step on the IEC’s online candidate nomination system before the deadline of 28 August 2026.
Although the party had uploaded candidate information onto the system, it had not clicked the “Submit as Final” button required to complete the process.
The IEC maintained that the nominations had not been validly submitted by the deadline.
The ANC challenged the commission’s decision, arguing that the candidate information had already been uploaded and that the final submission requirement was a feature of the online system rather than an express requirement in electoral legislation.
The Electoral Court initially dismissed the ANC’s challenge, prompting the party to approach the Constitutional Court.The Democratic Alliance opposed the ANC’s appeal.
IEC TO IMPLEMENT THE COURT ORDERFollowing the ruling, the IEC is required to take the necessary steps to include the affected ANC candidates on ballot papers and in the relevant electoral processes.
IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya welcomed the court’s decision and indicated that the commission would comply with the order.
The ruling comes as the commission continues preparations for the local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026.
The IEC faces additional administrative work because ballot papers already prepared for the affected municipalities may need to be reprinted to accommodate the reinstated candidates.
The commission has indicated that implementing the court order and completing election preparations remain priorities.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EASTERN CAPE VOTERS
For voters in Ngquza Hill, Port St Johns, Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley, the ruling restores the opportunity for the affected ANC candidates to participate in the relevant municipal electoral contests.
However, the decision does not guarantee that the ANC will win seats in these municipalities.
The outcome will ultimately depend on the votes cast by residents during the elections.
The case also highlights the importance of complying with nomination procedures and the role of the courts in resolving electoral disputes.
With the 4 November elections approaching, attention now turns to the IEC’s implementation of the Constitutional Court’s order and the finalisation of ballot arrangements.
