DA, ANC at loggerheads over Concourt ruling on candidates

THE ANC and DA were at loggerheads moments after the Constitutional Court dismissed the opposition party’s application to stop the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) from reopening the registration of candidates.

The Concourt ruling was delivered yesterday – on the eve of the IEC’s deadline for all parties to register their candidates by 5pm today – to allow all parties a chance to participate in the upcoming local government elections on November 1.

The ANC was one of the parties that failed to register all its candidates ahead of the initial deadline of August 23, prompting the DA to accuse the IEC of favouring the governing party when it set down September 21 as a new date for registration of candidates.

The DA lodged an application in the Concourt arguing that the IEC decision on September 6 to reopen the candidate nomination process, was unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid, and called for it to be set aside.

The application came off the back of a separate urgent application (the main application) launched by the commission under the same case number, in terms of which it sought an order to the effect that it could hold the local government elections which were scheduled for 27 October in February 2022, due to the risk of the election not being free and fair because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the alternative, the Commission sought an order declaring that its failure to hold the local government elections on October 27 was unconstitutional, and that such declaration of invalidity be suspended to allow it until February 23, 2022 to correct the constitutional defect.

The Concourt ruled against the DA and it also found that the claims that the motive to allow for the reopening of registration was aimed at favouring the ANC invalid.

In her reaction to the judgment, DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille said her party accepted the decision of the Constitutional Court but said the court did not draw a final conclusion on whether the IEC had an ulterior motive in reopening the candidate nomination process, saying it could not draw this conclusion merely on the basis of the papers before the court.

“Given the fact that the IEC has previously disqualified parties that did not meet deadlines, and given their explicit statement before the Constitutional Court that it would not be possible to reopen voter or candidate registration if the elections were not postponed to 2022, the DA notes the 180 degree turn made subsequently by the IEC and the consequences of its decisions, which will undoubtedly favour the ANC, despite its manifest failures in sticking by the rules laid down for all parties,” Zille said

She said the DA would continue to monitor the freeness and fairness of the election and would not hesitate to use the opportunity opened by the Concourt to challenge the IEC if any further examples of bending the rules to favour the ANC emerged during the election.

The ANC welcomed the court decision saying the judgment vindicated the position taken by it that the right of citizens to vote was inextricably linked to their right to stand for public office.

ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said the ruling party also confirmed the correctness of the support given to the IEC’s decision by the ACDP, AIC, Al Jama-ah, Cope, FF Plus, Good, PAC and the UDM.

“We call upon the DA to refrain from further attacks on the integrity of the judiciary and the IEC,” Mabe said.

The SACP also welcomed the Concourt’s decision.