The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has rejected demands by the EFF for answers over allegations that the ANC missed candidate nomination deadlines in several Eastern Cape municipalities.
The commission insists that no political party has or will receive special treatment, saying the electoral timetable remains unchanged.
EFF Eastern Cape secretary and MPL Simthembile Madikizela wrote to the IEC on Tuesday seeking an “authoritative answer” on whether the ANC successfully submitted ward and proportional representation (PR) candidate lists before the deadline.
The party also asked whether any other political parties failed to submit nominations on time, whether the IEC experienced technical failures or interruptions on its online nomination system before the deadline, and whether ANC officials approached the commission after the cut-off claiming technical difficulties had prevented it from making submissions.
“The EFF complied with the electoral timetable and conducted its candidate nomination process on the understanding that the deadline prescribed by the Electoral Commission was final and equally applicable to all political parties,” Madikizela said.
“The credibility of an election depends not only on what happens on voting day, but also on the fairness, transparency and consistent application of the rules governing participation in that election.”
According to the EFF’s letter, the ANC is said to have failed to submit ward and PR candidate lists in the Ingquza Hill and Port St Johns municipalities by the prescribed deadline.
The ruling party is also alleged to have failed to submit PR lists in the Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley municipalities.
The development could mean the party is unable to contest the elections in the affected municipalities, with its candidates potentially absent from the ballot.
Party insiders previously described these alleged developments as a calamity that could have devastating consequences for the ANC in a province already beset by internal divisions and legal challenges over candidate selection.
However, chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo rejected what he framed as attempts to pressurise the commission to account for claims swirling around the ANC’s nomination process.
Mamabolo said the commission could not be expected to “confirm, explain or account for statements made by third parties”.
He said the IEC had neither allowed nor intended to allow any political party an additional opportunity to capture nominations after the official deadline.
“The system was made available to contestants well in advance of the formal nomination period to facilitate timely submissions.”
Mamabolo said the IEC was still conducting verification processes required by statute.
All nominations were being assessed in terms of the constitution, electoral legislation and the election timetable.
“The existence of engagements between commission officials and contestants does not, without more, constitute a variation of the election timetable, a reopening of the nomination process, or the granting of any exemption from the applicable legal requirements.
“No political party or independent candidate will receive preferential treatment,” he said.
The commission announced on Wednesday that more than 142,000 candidates had been nominated to contest 10,526 council seats countrywide in the November 4 local government elections.
This represents a 43% increase on the approximately 99,000 received for the 2021 elections.
Of the 142,072 nominations, 40,241 candidates were nominated by political parties for PR seats and 100,856 for ward seats.
A further 975 independent candidates were nominated for ward seats.
The IEC said 299 political parties and 127 independent candidates used its Online Candidate Nomination System, while 205 political parties and 634 independent candidates submitted nominations manually at the commission’s offices.
It said 2,274 candidates had been captured on the online system but were not finally submitted before the deadline.
These comprised 480 potential PR candidates and 1,794 ward candidates across 45 political parties.
Political participation has increased, with 546 of SA’s 732 registered political parties entering the elections.
The candidate profile remains dominated by people aged between 36 and 55, who account for 58% of nominations.
Men account for nearly two-thirds of all candidates, while women make up 38%.
Nelson Mandela Bay is among the municipalities with the highest number of parties contesting PR seats, with 38 parties entering candidates.
The IEC’s immediate task is to verify all nominations for compliance with legislative requirements, including candidate acceptance forms, deposits and supporting documents.
The final list of candidates will be published on September 16 after the verification process.
Parties and independent candidates may be asked to submit additional documents from September 4, while notifications relating to multiple nominations will be issued on September 9.
Mamabolo said the commission remained committed to ensuring that the electoral process was conducted in accordance with the law and urged all candidates and political parties to uphold the Electoral Code of Conduct.
Daily Dispatch
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