Twenty-eight political parties have submitted candidate lists to contest the elections for the National Assembly and some provincial legislatures, chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula said on Tuesday.
Briefing the media following Monday’s 5pm deadline, Tlakula said she was satisfied with the organised manner in which most parties submitted their lists.
However, the submissions would still need to be scrutinised to determine if they meet the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) regulations.
Once finalised, the party leader’s photograph would be printed on the ballot paper.
Tlakula dismissed media reports that the Congress of the People had struck an agreement with the IEC about the photograph that would appear.
”We did not strike any agreement with any political party. The commission determines the design of the ballot paper. The person whose photo appears on the ballot paper is the photo of the leader.”
She said printing of the ballots would begin on March 11, after the draw to determine which party would appear at the top.
”Campaigning will now start in earnest,” said Tlakula.
She said 11 political parties had submitted lists to contest elections for the National Assembly as well as in all nine provinces.
These were the: Independent Democrats, African National Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party, African Christian Democratic Party, United Christian Democratic Party, Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front Plus, African People’s Convention, United Democratic Movement, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and the Congress of the People.
The three parties that only submitted lists for national elections were Keep it Straight and Simple (Kiss), the A Party, and the Hlanganani Sakhe Isizwe.
Fourteen parties will contest the elections for the National Assembly and one or more of the provincial legislatures, and another fourteen will fight in the provinces but not will not fight for seats in Parliament.
Tlakula said some parties had arrived late on Monday night to submit lists, despite widespread announcements of the cut-off date and time.
They would have to wait for five years to contest the next elections, said Tlakula. — Sapa, I-Net Bridge