The ANC has abruptly withdrawn its application to the electoral court to order the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) to reopen its systems to allow for political parties and independents to resubmit candidates.
Business Day understands that the party withdrew its application on Tuesday evening pending the outcome of the IEC’s application at the Constitutional Court to postpone the elections. The party filed its papers to the court on Monday requesting that the IEC’s IT systems be reopened for an additional 36 hours.
The ANC did not respond to requests for confirmation at the time of publication.
The UDM had previously indicated that they would join the ANC’s application as a friend of the court because the party experienced similar difficulties when submitting its candidates. The party will now also await the outcome of the IEC’s application to the top court, says party leader Bantu Holomisa.
“The cumulative effect of the difficulties experienced is that the process of submitting candidates on the system was delayed and the ANC was unable to submit its complete candidate lists,” ANC secretary-general Jessie Duarte says in court papers.
She contends that the ANC is “severely affected” in 35 municipalities “and will lose the possibility of governing again where the ANC is presently in government and risks losing its status as the main opposition party”.
The party’s list process was marred by chaos leading up to the IEC’s deadline on August 23. Duarte says the party was unable to complete the submission of its candidates in 94 municipalities and the IEC’s systems experienced technical difficulties on the cut-off day for candidate lists to be submitted.
Make ruling
Duarte says extending the IEC deadline for parties to submit candidates would not affect the holding of elections, which are scheduled for October 27, pending the IEC’s application to the Constitutional Court to postpone the polls to next year.
The Constitutional Court is expected to make a ruling on the case this week.
Duarte says that during the submission process some of the party’s administrators were repeatedly kicked off the IEC’s information system, data was deleted as candidate names were uploaded, and the network’s operating time was slow.
Duarte says the restrictions placed on political gatherings as part of the lockdown regulations made it difficult for the party to sufficiently complete its electioneering processes, which would ordinarily require three months.
This year the ANC introduced an additional layer to its candidate selection process that required that individuals contesting on behalf of the party should be supported by the communities they wish to represent. The party had previously only required that branches nominate their preferred candidates. These would then be collated by the national office and submitted to the IEC.
Ballot boxes
The IEC informed parties last Friday of candidates who may be appearing on multiple party lists, which is not permitted. Parties will have until September 2 to amend their candidate lists. The final list will be publicly available on September 7.
The IEC rejected the ANC’s request on the basis that it had to deliver a few million ballot boxes to more than 23,000 voting stations by September 7 and therefore could not reopen the candidate submission list, Duarte says.
The IEC added that it will only be in a position to reopen the candidate submission list should the Constitutional Court grant it permission to defer the elections to a later date.
Duarte says even if the top court were to rule in the IEC’s favour, it would not remedy the situation. Duarte contends that late submissions could have been avoided if the IEC had considered submissions made by various political parties regarding its election timetable.
“Irrespective of what the Constitutional Court may order, it is of grave concern that the commission admits that it cannot hold free and fair elections yet compels political parties to adhere to its timetable,” she says.
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