The Democratic Alliance (DA) will go up against the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa at the Constitutional Court, on Monday, in a landmark ruling that could have an impact on the 2021 local government elections.
Why did Electoral Commission reopen candidate nominations?
The IEC was obliged to amend its timetable and reopen the candidate nomination process after the apex court had overruled Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s proclamation and ordered the local government elections to take place by 1 November 2021.
This decision meant that the metro polling process was set to take place, despite a deep divide in the political realm on the fairness of an election taking place in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic.
The other implication of the ConCourt’s decision affected the IEC which, according to Deputy chief executive Masego Sheburi, was obliged to reopen candidate nominations, whose deadline was 23 August 2021.
Sheburi, addressing the joint parliamentary committees on home affairs and select committee on security and justice on Friday 10 September 2021, explained that the apex court’s decision essentially unsealed the voters and candidate registration roll.
“The net effect of setting aside the proclamation is that people can still register and change their details on the voters roll. The registration entitles voters to be included on the roll, to vote, to nominate candidates and to stand for public office
“The IEC is confident that the proposed amendments to the electoral timetable meets all the requirements for rationality and is lawful,” he said.
The DA has blasted this decision as unfair and only beneficial for the ANC.
“We look forward to the judgment and we will continue to ensure that state institutions serve all South Africans without fear or favour and do not bend the rules to suit the ANC,’ the party noted.
How to watch ConCourt ruling live
The ConCourt ruling will be broadcast on the judicial institution’s YouTube channel. You can also tune into proceedings below.
Please note: Proceedings are expected to take place at 10:00. Please allow for some delay from the ConCourt’s side. If the live stream does not play at the prescribed time, please refresh your browser (mobile only).