The Electoral Commission expects more political parties to approach the Electoral Court over candidate-list submissions after several organisations failed to submit all their nominees before the 28 August deadline.
KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga told SABC News that the commission had found no system failures that prevented parties from meeting the 17:00 cut-off.
Masinga said the commission had given the same response to parties that raised complaints, leaving the Electoral Court as their remaining avenue for relief.
The United Democratic Front Party has already lost its court challenge. The African National Congress is due to have its case heard on 15 September after it disputed the IEC’s refusal to accept parts of its candidate submission.
The ANC case is being watched closely because candidate lists determine who can contest wards and represent parties in proportional-representation seats in the local government elections. Any court order could affect how the commission applies its submission rules before the ballot.
The IEC’s position remains that its online system was operating and that political parties were responsible for completing their submissions by the deadline. Further challenges will be determined by the Electoral Court on the evidence placed before it.
