The Electoral Commission of South Africa says it does not fear the ANC after a Constitutional Court judgment that ruled in favour of the party in its legal battle against the commission.
Responding to questions at a briefing on Friday about whether the IEC feared a backlash from the ANC over the dispute involving its 181 affected councillor candidates, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said the commission had never been intimidated into doing its work.
Moepya said the commission had accepted the Constitutional Court’s judgment and congratulated the ANC on its victory. The IEC’s responsibility was now to return to its work and fulfil its obligations.
He said the ANC, through its secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, had indicated that it respected the IEC, adding that the commission also respected the ANC.
“We have never been intimidated by the ANC. When they raised this matter with us, we were clear that there had never been a reason to fight outside the law,” Moepya said.
“We fear no one that deals with the commission. There is no reason to do so. We have maintained that this is our interpretation and understanding of the law and that is how the matter has unfolded.”
On Thursday, the Constitutional Court overturned an Electoral Court decision that had excluded 181 ANC councillor candidates from contesting the elections in six municipalities.
The court granted the ANC’s appeal and directed the IEC to take all necessary steps to include the affected candidate nominations on ballot papers and in other relevant election processes.
The dispute arose after the ANC failed to complete the final submission process on the IEC’s online candidate nomination system before the deadline.
The party challenged the IEC’s decision, arguing that its candidates’ details had been uploaded to the system.
The affected municipalities are Sundays River Valley, Walter Sisulu, Ngquza Hill and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal, and Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State.
In a further development, Moepya also announced that 32 other political parties in a similar position would also be allowed to contest the elections.
He said the parties had intended to participate in 121 municipalities across the country. Their nominations covered all three ballot types: metropolitan, local and district.
“As with the ANC, these parties had nominated compliant candidates and paid election deposits but had not submitted their final candidate lists.”
The commission said its decision was consistent with the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections, as well as the importance of upholding the fundamental principle of equal treatment.
“Consistent with the constitutional imperative for free and fair elections, as well as the importance of upholding the inherent principle of parity of treatment, the commission has resolved that the 32 similarly situated parties must be deemed to have lawfully submitted their candidates.
“The commission’s view is that it would be irrational and offensive to the principle of parity of treatment to exclude parties similarly situated to the ANC.”