The African Christian Democratic Party should be allowed to contest the local government elections in the Cape Town unicity, the Constitutional Court ruled on Friday.
”The court accordingly upholds the appeal and declares that the applicant is entitled to contest the elections in the Cape metropolitan area on March 1,” Justice Kate O’Regan said on Friday. ”The electoral commission is directed to take all reasonable steps to give effect to the order.”
O’Regan said the Electoral Court had upheld a decision of the Independent Electoral Commission that the applicant was disqualified.
Oral argument was heard in an urgent application to the Constitutional Court on Thursday and one of the questions raised was whether the ACDP had complied with certain Sections of the Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000.
The provisions require that a party and ward candidates contesting an election lodge with the commission a deposit together with notice of intention of contesting the election.
The deposit payable for Cape Town was R3 000.
The ACDP is the third-largest party in the Cape metro and had accidentally omitted the metro from its bulk payment.
Justice O’Regan said that the applicant had lodged its party list and candidate nomination forms for all 105 wards in the Cape metro, but it did not lodge a separate deposit in respect of Cape Town municipality.
However, on that date, it was common cause the Independent Electoral Commission was holding unallocated funds in an amount of R10 000 that had been deposited by the applicant. — Sapa