The Electoral Commission (IEC) told the Constitutional Court that the ANC was fully aware of the electronic candidate submission process but failed to complete it in time for six municipalities in next month’s local government elections.
The IEC is opposing the ANC’s bid to have 181 candidates reinstated on ballot papers after their submissions were not finalised before the deadline.
The commission argues that while the law does not specifically mention pressing a final submission button, the ANC had accepted and followed all the other electronic submission steps required by the system.
Representing the IEC, Advocate Terry Motau said political parties cannot selectively choose which compliance requirements to follow.
The commission maintains that the matter is straightforward, stating that the ANC left its submissions until the last minute and ultimately ran out of time.
The ANC has argued that all affected candidates’ information had already been uploaded to the system before the deadline, demonstrating its intention to contest the elections.
