The Independent Electoral Commission has welcomed a Constitutional Court ruling allowing 181 ANC candidates to contest the November 4 local government elections.
The judgment overturns their exclusion after the ANC failed to complete the submission of candidate lists before the August 28 deadline.
IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya says the ruling brings certainty to a matter that had cast doubt over the participation of the affected candidates.
Moepya says the commission will now focus on implementing the court order and finalising election preparations. He says ballot papers will be reprinted where necessary to ensure the ANC candidates appear on the ballot.
The dispute affected 181 candidates across six municipalities in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
The ANC had appealed an Electoral Court ruling that upheld the IEC’s decision to exclude the candidates. The commission now faces a tight deadline, with local government elections less than three weeks away.
