Electoral Court Upholds Exclusion of 181 ANC Candidates

The Electoral Court dismissed an appeal by the African National Congress (ANC) challenging the decision to exclude 181 of its candidates from the November 4 local government elections. The exclusions affected six municipalities after the party failed to complete the final submission process on the Electoral Commission of South Africa's online nomination system by the August 28 deadline.

The ANC argued that the requirement to click a "submit as final" button was not explicitly mandated by electoral legislation or regulations. However, the Electoral Commission of South Africa maintained that the finalization process was a required component of the prescribed system.

In its Wednesday order, the court ruled in favor of the commission. The court also granted the Democratic Alliance leave to intervene in the legal matter but rejected a similar application by the African Transformation Movement, citing a late submission and a lack of application for condonation.