The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) will extend candidate list relief to 32 political parties following a Constitutional Court ruling involving the African National Congress (ANC).
The decision comes ahead of the 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections. It aims to ensure fair treatment of parties in similar situations.
In a media statement on Friday, 16 October, the IEC confirmed that it had accepted the court’s ruling. The Commission also outlined steps to implement the decision.
IEC Extends Relief to 32 Parties
The Constitutional Court ordered the IEC to include 181 ANC candidates across six municipalities. These include 51 ward candidates and 130 proportional representation candidates.
However, the ruling also has implications for other political parties.
The IEC identified 32 parties in similar situations to the ANC. These parties had nominated candidates and paid their election deposits. However, they had not submitted their final candidate lists.
As a result, the Commission decided to extend the same relief to these parties.
The 32 parties planned to contest elections in 121 municipalities across the country. Their candidates covered metropolitan, local and district municipal ballots.
According to the IEC, excluding these parties would violate the principle of equal treatment. Therefore, the Commission decided to recognise their candidate submissions as lawful.
Thirteen Parties Do Not Qualify
Meanwhile, 13 other political parties failed to meet the required conditions.
The IEC said these parties had not met the requirements for lawful candidate submissions. These included paying election deposits and meeting voter registration rules in the municipalities they wanted to contest.
Therefore, the Commission will not extend the same relief to them.
Ballot Printing Faces Changes
The decision will also affect the IEC’s election preparations.
The Commission estimates that it will need to produce 33 million ballots. However, it had already printed 27 million ballots when it announced the decision.
A further 6.6 million ballots had not yet been printed. These ballots affect six municipalities involved in the ANC’s court challenge.
The IEC had delayed printing those ballots while waiting for the Constitutional Court’s decision. As a result, the Commission said it had not incurred printing costs for the affected ballots.
IEC to Contact Political Parties
The IEC will contact all 32 political parties to confirm whether they still intend to contest the elections on 4 November.
Parties that wish to participate will have an opportunity to meet the candidate nomination requirements.
They may also need to add or replace candidates where names appear on multiple lists. Once they meet the requirements, the IEC will issue their candidate certificates.
The Commission plans to complete the process within a short period. Therefore, the affected parties will need to act quickly.
Will the Election Date Change?
The IEC said it does not currently expect the ruling to change the election date.
However, the decision has placed additional pressure on its logistical preparations. The Commission must now complete the outstanding work within a limited period.
Despite these challenges, the IEC reaffirmed its commitment to free and fair elections.
The Commission also said it would respect court decisions and treat political parties fairly throughout the electoral process.
South Africans are scheduled to vote in the Local Government Elections on 4 November 2026.
