Constitutional Court reserves judgment in ANC candidate dispute

The Constitutional Court heard the African National Congress’s challenge on October 12 to the exclusion of 181 candidates from its lists in six municipalities, and reserved judgment. The dispute centers on whether the party’s failure to click the electoral commission’s online “Submit as Final” button meant its nominations had not been formally submitted before the deadline. The ANC argues that it completed the nomination forms and uploaded candidate details and supporting documents before the August 28 deadline. Its lawyer, Daniel Berger, told the court that legislation and regulations do not make the final-button step a legal requirement. He argued that the information had already been saved in the commission’s system and that clicking the button would only have confirmed the submission as final. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) conceded during the hearing that neither legislation nor regulations expressly require parties to click that button. Its lawyer, Terry Motau, argued, however, that the ANC could not rely on other features of the online system while rejecting one of its operational requirements after missing the deadline.