Hope Ntanzi|Published
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has extended the effect of the Constitutional Court ruling on the ANC’s excluded election candidates to 32 other political parties, with 6.6 million ballots still to be printed ahead of the November 4 local government elections.
Speaking during a media briefing on Friday, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said the commission had resolved to recognise the candidate submissions of the 32 parties that, like the African National Congress (ANC), had nominated candidates and paid election deposits but had not submitted their final candidate lists.
“The Commission recognises that 32 other similar-situated political parties intended to contest against the ANC. These 32 other political parties intended to contest in 121 local municipalities across the nation,” Moepya said.
The parties intended to contest on metropolitan, local and district municipality ballots.
“As with the ANC, the parties had nominated compliant candidates and paid election deposits but had not submitted their final candidate list,” he said.
The decision follows the Constitutional Court's ruling that allowed 181 ANC candidates to contest the elections. The candidates comprise 51 ward candidates and 130 proportional representation candidates across six municipalities.
Moepya said the commission had extended the same treatment to the 32 parties to ensure fairness and equal treatment of parties in similar circumstances.
“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,” he said.
The extension affects 107 municipalities. The IEC said 13 other parties did not meet the requirements despite the additional opportunity, including requirements relating to election deposits and registration on the voters’ roll in the municipalities where they intended to contest.
Millions of ballots still to be printed
The ruling has affected the IEC’s election preparations, with 6.6 million ballots still to be printed.
Moepya said the commission had held back on printing ballots for the six municipalities involved in the ANC case while awaiting the court’s decision.
“The Commission held back from commencing with printing of the ballots until the constitutional court had made a ruling on this matter. In other words, no costs were incurred in relation to ballots affecting the six municipalities that were before the court,” he said.
The IEC said approximately 33 million ballots were required for the elections, of which 27 million had already been printed.
The commission will contact the 32 political parties to establish whether they still intend to contest the November 4 elections.
Those that confirm their participation will be given an opportunity to comply with nomination requirements, including supplementing or substituting candidate names where necessary, before receiving their candidate certificates.
The process will apply to the 33 affected parties, including the ANC, and must be completed within a limited timeframe
IEC does not expect election date to change
Moepya said the commission did not currently expect the developments to affect the election date, although the ruling had placed pressure on its logistical preparations.
“At the moment, the Commission does not anticipate that these developments will affect the 4 November 2026 election date. However, it is apparent that our logistical preparations have been significantly affected,” he said.
The IEC will also proceed with special voting on November 2 and 3, ahead of election day on November 4.
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