ConCourt overturns ANC candidate exclusion in landmark election ruling

The Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of the African National Congress (ANC), overturning an Electoral Court judgment that excluded 181 of the party’s candidates from contesting the 4 November local government elections.

In its ruling on Thursday, 15 October, the country’s highest court ordered the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to take the necessary steps to include the affected candidates in six municipalities.

The decision reverses last month’s Electoral Court ruling, which found in favour of the IEC after the ANC failed to complete the final stage of its electronic candidate nomination process before the prescribed deadline.

The dispute centred on the commission’s online submission system, which required political parties to confirm their candidate lists by selecting a “submit as final” option.

Although the ANC had uploaded the relevant candidate information, it had not completed the final electronic submission before the deadline on 28 August.

The IEC consequently treated the affected nominations as incomplete and excluded the candidates from the certified lists.

The ANC challenged that decision, arguing that its nominations had been submitted in substance and that the failure to complete the final electronic step should not invalidate them.

The Electoral Court initially rejected the party’s challenge, prompting an appeal to the Constitutional Court.

Justice Rammaka Mathopo delivered Thursday’s order, which directs the IEC to accommodate the affected candidates in the remaining electoral preparations.

The ruling has immediate operational consequences for the commission, which has already printed more than two-thirds of the ballot papers required for the elections.

It also raises questions about the interpretation and enforcement of electronic nomination requirements, particularly where procedural compliance and electoral participation intersect.

The judgment does not remove the obligation on political parties to comply with election deadlines, but it changes the outcome of this particular dispute.

With fewer than three weeks remaining before South Africans go to the polls, the IEC must now implement the court’s order while maintaining the integrity and timetable of the elections.

Sources: Business Day, 15 October 2026; Mail & Guardian, 15 October 2026; SABC News, 15 October 2026; The Citizen, 15 October 2026.