ANC Challenges Election Candidate Nomination Rejection

The African National Congress (ANC) has initiated legal proceedings, challenging the Independent Electoral Commission's (IEC) decision to reject a portion of its candidate nominations for the upcoming November 4 Local Government Elections. The party has filed papers with the Electoral Court, seeking to overturn the IEC's ruling that deemed certain nominations invalid due to missed deadlines. The ANC attributes the issue to a technical glitch within the IEC's online nomination system, which they claim prevented the timely processing of candidate details. According to ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, the party successfully submitted 97 percent of its candidate lists, but a remaining three percent, representing 181 candidates across six municipalities in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape, were affected by the alleged glitch. Mbalula emphasized that the party is not questioning the IEC's integrity but is instead disagreeing on a point of law regarding the interpretation of the word "submitted" in relation to electronic submissions.