ANC to ‘exercise its legal rights’ after Electoral Court dismisses candidate list case

The ANC has suffered a big blow in the lead-up to the local government elections as the Electoral Court dismissed its appeal against the exclusion of its 181 candidates in six municipalities.

The affected municipalities are Port St Johns, Ngquza Hill, Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape, as well as uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal and Mangaung in the Free State.

In a judgment handed down on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, the court rejected the ANC’s argument that its candidates should be accepted because the party had substantially completed the nomination process before the 28 August deadline.

Appearing virtually before the court on Tuesday, the ANC’s legal team, led by advocate Daniel Burger, argued that the party had completed candidate forms, uploaded supporting documents and paid the required deposits. However, it had not completed the “Submit as Final” step on the IEC’s online system before the deadline. 

In its papers, the party said the system had received the required information, but technical difficulties prevented its administrators from completing the final electronic step.

The ANC said that at 4.34pm on deadline day, its administrators were logged out of the system and returned to the landing page. According to the party, the problem was reported to an IEC official at 4.35pm, before its officials were logged out again at 4.57pm.

The IEC therefore treated the nominations as not having been formally submitted.

The ANC argued that its candidate information and supporting documents had reached the IEC system before the deadline, demonstrating its intention to contest the elections.

The party also argued that the Municipal Electoral Act and regulations did not make pressing the “Submit as Final” button a legal requirement. Its case was that it had substantially completed the nomination process and should not lose its candidates because of the final electronic step.   

The IEC’s position that failing to click the final submission button meant the ANC’s candidates were excluded was based on the commission’s interpretation of the law which the party wanted the court to interpret. 

“They have made a decision that we are disqualified from participating in the election because we have failed to click the button,” Burger argued. 

The ‘glitch-based case’

But the IEC, represented by advocate Terry Motau, rejected this argument and said the ANC should be held to its original case that technical glitches had prevented it from completing the submission.

Motau argued that the ANC could have submitted its candidate lists by hand, which would have avoided the dispute over the electronic submission process.

“The ANC could have opted to submit by hand. Then this debate wouldn’t arise,” Motau said.

The commission said the dispute over the interpretation of the law had only emerged in the ANC’s court application and was not the basis on which the party had initially raised concerns with the commission.

“The issue is not, and it never was, about interpretation. That issue only arose for the first time in this application,” the IEC argued.

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The commission also urged the court to hold the ANC to the case it had initially advanced, saying the integrity of the electoral process was at stake.

“The ANC should be held to its glitches-based case. But also, it is important for the integrity of the electoral process,” Motau argued.

It said the electronic submissions made by parties formed part of the election process and that the ANC’s change in argument should not be allowed to sidestep the requirements of the system.

The IEC maintained that there were no system glitches that prevented the ANC from completing the process and said the party had successfully used the electronic system for most of its nominations.

ANC’s response

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the party had noted the judgment and would pursue the appropriate appeal process.

“The ANC respects the courts and the judicial process. We have consistently maintained that this matter is not about seeking preferential treatment for the ANC, nor about asking the Electoral Commission to change the rules for the benefit of our organisation,” Bhengu said.

She said the dispute concerned the legal status of candidate information that the ANC maintained had been captured on the IEC’s electronic system before the deadline.

“Having considered the judgment, the ANC will exercise its legal rights and pursue the appropriate appeal process,” she said.

Bhengu also called on ANC members, leaders and supporters to remain calm and avoid public commentary that could prejudice the ongoing legal process.

Lungisa’s separate court fight

The call for calm comes as former Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Andile Lungisa is involved in a separate legal fight over his removal from the ANC’s candidate list.

Lungisa is challenging his removal and wants the court to declare that he remains the ANC’s validly nominated number-one candidate for mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay.

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He is not asking the court to change the candidate list already submitted to the IEC. Instead, he argues that his removal was unlawful under the ANC’s own candidate-selection guidelines, Daily Maverick reported. 

Lungisa says the declaration is important because the Municipal Structures Act allows parties to supplement their candidate lists in certain circumstances after an election. He argues that recognising his nomination would preserve his position as the party’s number-one candidate should such a process arise. DM