Moepya commits IEC to ANC ballot changes and pledges review of nomination rules

The Constitutional Court has overturned the Electoral Court’s order and directed the IEC to take all necessary steps to include the ANC’s affected party lists and ward candidates.

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya says the commission accepts the ruling and will implement the order.

The court has reserved its reasons for a later stage, while Moepya says the IEC will immediately review its electronic nomination procedures.

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya says the Electoral Commission will implement the Constitutional Court’s ruling overturning the exclusion of ANC candidates from the 4 November 2026 local government elections.

The majority upheld the ANC’s appeal, set aside the Electoral Court’s order and directed the IEC to include the affected party lists and ward candidate nominations in the ballots and all other relevant election processes.

Moepya says IEC will implement the ruling

Speaking after the judgment was handed down, Moepya welcomed the clarity it provided and said the commission would move forward with implementing the court’s order. “We must say we welcome the clarity and the certainty that this judgment has given to all of us. Before now, we had an issue that was unresolved. It is now in the past. We now need to move forward,” he said.

Moepya said the commission was clear about what was required and would take the necessary steps to comply with the ruling. “There is no confusion, and there is certainty about what must be done, and that’s really what we need to do,” he said.

The case concerned the IEC’s refusal to accept the ANC’s party lists and ward candidate nominations in six municipalities: Sundays River Valley, Walter Sisulu, Mgozaheen, Port St Johns, uMshwathi and Mangaung.

The ANC had challenged its candidates’ exclusion after failing to complete the final submission step on the IEC’s Online Candidate Nomination System. The dispute centred on the requirement to click “Submit as Final” after capturing candidate information and uploading supporting documents.

The Constitutional Court’s order directs the IEC to do everything necessary to include the affected party lists and ward nominations in the relevant lists, on ballot papers and in other processes for the 4 November elections.

Constitutional Court overturns Electoral Court order

In delivering the order, Justice R Mathopo said the majority had concluded that the ANC’s appeal should be upheld. The majority comprised Justice Mathopo, Deputy Chief Justice Mhlapho, Justice Shantha, Justice Theron, Justice Jampuza, Acting Justice Le Grange and Acting Justice Mogoeng.

The court granted the ANC leave to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court and condoned the late filing of the IEC’s answering affidavit, finding that it was adequate and that there was no prejudice.

It then set aside the Electoral Court’s order and substituted it with an order setting aside the IEC’s decision to refuse the ANC’s party lists and ward candidate nominations in the six municipalities.

The commission was directed to take all necessary steps to include those nominations in the lists, on the ballot papers and in all other relevant processes for the 4 November elections. The court also made an order for costs.

However, the Constitutional Court did not provide its reasons when the order was handed down. Justice Mathopo said the reasons would be given at a later stage. The legal reasoning behind the majority’s decision therefore remains to be set out in the court’s forthcoming reasons.

Moepya acknowledges the court rejected the IEC’s interpretation

Moepya said the commission had acted on its interpretation of the law, but the Constitutional Court had reached a different conclusion. He stressed that the IEC would comply with the ruling rather than allow the disagreement over the legal requirements to obstruct election preparations.

“I want to say to you, in an election, this moment is very important. It is important that the electoral management body, in this case ourselves as the Electoral Commission of South Africa, we need to do something that the court found we should have done,” he said.

He explained that the commission’s position had not been driven by a desire to prevent the ANC’s candidates from contesting the elections. “And it’s not because we did not do it. The reasons are we didn’t want to do it. We thought, we interpreted the law. The court says on this occasion, not so, and so we’re going to do it,” Moepya said.

The chairperson said the commission had to concentrate on its responsibility to deliver the elections despite the additional work required to implement the order. “It is not a moment we should go in hand. It’s not a moment we should be feeling it’s tough. It is a moment to rise and deliver an election that South Africans deserve. And that’s what we do,” he said.

IEC will not speculate about other political parties

Asked whether other political parties might pursue similar legal challenges, Moepya declined to speculate about possible future cases. “We are not going to speculate about anything. We are going to do what the court has said,” he said.

He emphasised that the Constitutional Court had heard the ANC’s arguments and issued an order dealing with that particular dispute. The commission would therefore implement the order rather than anticipate the outcome of other cases.

“The court heard arguments, and I was here on Monday when the court heard those arguments. And the court said the ANC is before the court. It is dealing with the ANC matter. In the order that was issued today, the court spoke about the ANC, and that’s really what we understand and what we’re going to do,” he said.

Moepya promises immediate review of nomination procedures

Beyond implementing the order, Moepya said the commission would review its electronic nomination procedures in light of the dispute.

The case arose because the ANC had captured candidate information and uploaded supporting documents but had not completed the final submission step. Moepya said the IEC routinely reviews its election processes to identify shortcomings and determine where improvements are needed.

“We go and debrief and say, what are the things we did better? And this is one of them,” he said. He stressed that the review would begin immediately rather than be postponed until the next general elections. “And so the recent judgment will give us enough opportunity for us to look at that and to do it, not for 2021, but immediately, because we have by-elections come,” Moepya said.

He added that other elections could take place before the next general elections, making it necessary for the commission to consider the implications of the judgment now. “There may be other elections before the next set of general elections. So these are the things that we need to do. And I think it strengthens the administration of elections in our country,” he said.

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