The independent electoral commission (IEC) will allow 32 political parties in a similar position to the ANC to participate in the local government elections on 4 November. This follows the Constitutional Court's decision that 181 ANC candidates, including 51 ward candidates and 130 proportional representation candidates, must be included on candidate lists in six municipalities.
The IEC announced on Friday that the court's decision will also be applied to the 32 other parties to ensure that political parties are treated fairly. The IEC said the 32 parties had nominated candidates who met the requirements and paid election deposits, but did not submit their final candidate lists. The commission found that it would be unfair to exclude these parties while the ANC is allowed under the court order to submit its candidates. However, thirteen other parties do not qualify for the same concession because, among other reasons, they did not pay the required deposits or did not meet the voter roll registration requirements.
According to the IEC, the decision affects 107 municipalities and means that a total of 33 million ballot papers are required. Of this number, 27 million have already been printed, while a further 6.6 million still need to be printed. The commission postponed printing ballot papers for the six municipalities affected by the ANC's court case until the Constitutional Court delivered its judgment. The IEC said no costs were incurred for the ballot papers intended for those six municipalities.
The IEC will contact the 32 parties to confirm whether they still wish to participate in the elections. If so, they will be given a limited time to complete the candidate nomination process and, where necessary, add or replace names on their lists. The commission said it does not currently expect the developments to change the election date, but acknowledges that logistical preparations must now be completed within a considerably shorter timeframe.
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This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
