Ramaphosa defends ANC’s late election candidate lists as party considers court action

President Cyril Ramaphosa was met by cheering ANC supporters in the streets of Tembisa on Friday as he took the party’s local government election campaign door-to-door. 

However, behind the warm reception, residents confronted him with the realities of unemployment, crime and the rising cost of living.

The president’s campaign around the Nxiweni voting district in Ward 14 on 4 September came as the ANC grapples with a candidate list crisis that could see hundreds of its nominated councillors excluded from the 4 November local government elections.

The ANC missed the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) 28 August deadline to successfully finalise hundreds of nominated councillor candidates in some Eastern Cape and Free State municipalities, with the party blaming technical glitches during the submission process.

The IEC has rejected claims that its system malfunctioned, saying the platform operated as designed and that political parties had been given access to it since June. It’s also been adamant that it won’t accommodate parties that made late submissions.

The IEC has said about 2,300 candidates from 45 political parties were captured on the system but not finally submitted before the 5pm deadline, meaning they could not be accepted under the electoral process.

For the ANC, the fallout has affected just under 200 ward and proportional representation candidates in the Mangaung metro and Lejweleputswa District Municipality in Free State; uMshwathi Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal; and Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill and Sundays River Valley in Eastern Cape.

The developments have triggered internal tensions and legal manoeuvring, with the party considering different avenues to resolve the dispute.

Engaging the IEC

Speaking on the failure to finalise the lists, Ramaphosa maintained that the problem was caused by technical glitches: “There were some glitches, glitches with regards to just the interface with the IEC system.”

He insisted that the ANC had correctly submitted all of its candidate lists nationally.

“The candidates list was there for the whole country. They were submitted and in regard to those areas, there were some glitches.”

Ramaphosa also pointed out that the ANC was not the only party affected. He said he expected a solution to be found so that voters were not prevented from choosing candidates.

“So there should be a solution to be found because the technical glitches should not in the end deprive our people from being able to vote for their candidates and I’m certain that a solution will be found.”

Ramaphosa said the ANC could pursue several avenues, including engagement with the IEC, its Political Party Liaison Committee, and the Electoral Court.

“The Political Party Liaison Committee, as well as the IEC and the parties themselves, will be able to find a solution. So I do believe that a solution should be at hand.”

On whether the ANC would approach the courts, Ramaphosa said the party was considering its options.

“The Electoral Court, which is a specialist institution, should be able to solve that too.”

However, he downplayed the scale of the problem, saying the latest difficulties were more limited than previous electoral-list problems.

“This time around, the error was in a limited sort of area. It’s not as wholesale as it was the last time. So I think it’s containable and it’s manageable and there should be a solution that can be found.”

He added: “We are looking at various options and of course, going to the Electoral Court is one of them. Interfacing with the IEC is one of them. And solving the problem with the political liaison committee is one of them. So, all those options are open.”

The president was also asked about the ANC’s promised announcement of its mayoral candidates, which the party had indicated would take place in September.

Ramaphosa declined to provide a date: “We did say that we will announce our candidates and I said watch this space. So I continue to say watch this space.”

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Crime and unemployment

Tembisa faces persistent challenges around municipal services, infrastructure and crime, while the broader area has also been affected by concerns around corruption and healthcare delivery. Residents used the ANC’s campaign visit to raise issues that affect their daily lives, with unemployment emerging as one of the most pressing concerns.

As Ramaphosa moved from home to home, one resident, who identified as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, told Ramaphosa they had not lived in Tembisa for very long but had already experienced the difficulty of finding employment.

The resident, who runs a hair and beauty salon, said they sometimes felt discrimination because their sexuality had contributed to their inability to find work.

They also raised concerns about streetlights, saying poorly lit areas contributed to crime. Residents who raised issues declined to give their names.

Ramaphosa acknowledged the concerns.

“Streetlights affect security. People need to feel safe and secure and to do that we need to make sure that everything that happens in the community is seen, especially at night,” the president said. 

Another resident told the president that he was 34-years-old, part of a family of six, and had also been unable to find employment. He spoke about the link between unemployment and poverty, while also raising concerns about crime and drug use in the community.

Residents also revealed how they have resorted to putting up boom gates in some streets to protect themselves. One told Ramaphosa that drugs were allegedly being sold in the area and that police often failed to act when incidents were reported.

“It’s important to speak about this, Mr President, because we can’t say you are a leader of society but when we are being attacked, the party can’t stand up to help us,” he said.

The resident also raised the rising cost of electricity and rent.

“We cannot afford [them]. Cost of living does not align. Everything is too expensive,” he said.

Ramaphosa conceded that unemployment remained one of the country’s biggest challenges.

“We are fixing the economy to expand investments,” he said.

“We need to encourage companies to invest. We are working on providing more jobs. Government is trying to do its best at national and provincial levels.”

He urged residents not to lose hope.

“At municipal level, they are also doing their best and have more efficient programmes. I plead with you guys and the rest of South Africans to not give up.”

Call for community pressure

On crime, Ramaphosa called for greater community involvement, saying organised communities could put pressure on drug dealers and other criminals.

“Crime is a major problem but communities must also make efforts to defend themselves through community forums. If the community is well organised, then even those who sell drugs will feel the pressure since the community is acting together. Boom gates won’t even be necessary cause the community will become the boom gates.”

He also acknowledged the ANC’s responsibility at local level.

“And we acknowledge that the ANC must play a central role. Our ward councillors and branch chair must focus on the problem.”

Ramaphosa described Tembisa as a community with a strong ANC organisational base.

“Tembisa is a paying community and we appreciate that a lot. Tembisa has a strong organisational base.”

Ramaphosa upbeat

Despite the concerns raised by residents, Ramaphosa said he believed the ANC had received a positive reception during the campaign.

Asked by Daily Maverick about his overall assessment of the campaign and how residents had received the ANC, he said some residents had initially been doubtful but appeared more positive after engaging with him.

“Well, we’ve been well received here in Tembisa, particularly in this voting district, and I’ve been really impressed with the way that our people have responded.”

“Some tended to be a bit doubtful, but when we interacted with them, I could see that their attitudes started to change and they became more positive.”

Ramaphosa said residents had generally expressed appreciation for developments in the area, although unemployment remained the biggest challenge.

“But overall, all of them have expressed a gratefulness for the changes and the developments in this area in terms of their livelihoods affecting their living conditions, and as I said, overall the key problem is an economic one, the availability of jobs.”

He said service delivery in the area was largely satisfactory, while pointing to streetlights as an outstanding concern.

“They want overhead lights to limit the incidence of criminality here. And the mayor who’s been here has said they are attending to that.” DM