South Africa: ANC Loses Court Battle Over Excluded Candidates, Vows to Appeal
The party will pursue further appeals after judges ruled that uploading candidate details was not the same as formal submission.
- On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, the Electoral Court dismissed the African National Congress challenge regarding 181 candidates excluded from the November 4 local government elections.
- The ANC argued that technical difficulties on the Online Candidate Nomination System prevented it from completing the "Submit as Final" step before the August 28 deadline, with administrators allegedly logged out repeatedly.
- Advocate Terry Motau, representing the IEC, rejected the glitch claim, arguing the ANC could have submitted lists manually to avoid the dispute affecting six municipalities across the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Free State.
- ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu announced the party will appeal the ruling, while Democratic Alliance Federal Council chairperson Ashor Sarupen said "deadlines are deadlines." The court granted the DA leave to intervene.
- With the legal challenge resolved, the IEC continues preparations for the November 4 vote featuring a record nearly 137,000 candidates across eight metropolitan, 47 district, and 205 local municipalities.
13 Articles
13 Articles
ANC loses Electoral Court bid, exposing internal divisions
The ANC has lost its Electoral Court challenge against the IEC’s rejection of 181 candidate nominations ahead of South Africa’s 4 November local government elections, Cape {town} Etc reports. The disputed nominations span six municipalities. The ANC argued that the candidate information had been captured on the IEC’s Online Candidate Nomination System before the 5pm deadline on 28 August, with... Read more →
ANC vows to ‘exercise legal rights’ after losing bid to reinstate 181 poll candidates
The Electoral Court has rejected the ANC’s court application over 181 candidates excluded in six municipalities. The party says it will explore further legal avenues and maintains that technical problems prevented it from completing the final electronic submission.
South Africa: ANC Loses Court Battle Over Excluded Candidates, Vows to Appeal
The Electoral Court has dismissed the ANC's appeal over 181 candidates excluded from the local government elections. The court also granted the DA leave to intervene in the case, while the ANC says it will pursue a further appeal.
Major South African party loses court fight over barred candidates - The Press United
The ANC has vowed to appeal a ruling excluding more than 180 whose nominations were not finalized by the deadline South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s party has lost a court bid to place 181 candidates on the ballot for local elections in November, leaving it at risk of being shut out of two longtime strongholds. […] The post Major South African party loses court fight over barred candidates appeared first on The Press United | Internationa…
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