Durban - The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said on Thursday that citizens wanting to object to candidates nominated for the May 8 general elections had until April 2 to do so.
A list of contesting candidates would be available on the IEC website from Friday, the IEC said via an emailed statement.
"In terms of the election timetable, members of the public may object to the nomination of candidates until 5pm on April 2, 2019. A link to download the candidate lists will be available on the IEC homepage at www.elections.org.za," said the statement.
Over 10 000 candidates have been nominated to contest the national elections and over 8 000 for the provincial elections.
"This is significantly more than the 2 089 candidates nominated for the national ballot and 6 562 candidates nominated for the provincial elections in 2014," said the statement.
In terms of the Electoral Act, objections may be lodged against candidates for the following:
- They are not qualified to stand for elections
- There is no prescribed acceptance of nomination signed by the candidate and/or
- There is no prescribed undertaking signed by the candidate, that the candidate is bound by the IEC code of conduct.
In terms of the Constitution, every citizen who is qualified to vote for the national assembly and/or provincial legislature is eligible to stand for election except:
- Unrehabilitated insolvents
- Anyone declared to be of unsound mind by a court of the Republic
- Anyone who is convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment without the option of a fine either in South Africa or outside the country if the offence would have been an offence if committed in South Africa. This disqualification ends five years after the sentence has been completed.
Objections should be submitted to the national office of the IEC or emailed to [email protected] and must include:
- The objector’s full names, address and contact details
- The full particulars (name, ID number and party) of the candidate/s being objected to
- The grounds for objection against the candidate/s
- Detailed supporting documentation supporting the objection (if any).
The Commission would consider and make a determination on all objections and notify the objectors and affected parties of their decision by April 8, said the statement. Any objector, party or candidate aggrieved by the decision of the commission would then have until April 11 to appeal at the electoral court.