Cape Town – The Constitutional Court is expected to deliver judgment on Monday, on the application by the official opposition challenging a decision by the IEC to re-open the candidate registration process for the upcoming local government elections.
“Judgment tomorrow [on Monday] at 10h00,” the Concourt said in a statement on Sunday.
“Was the decision of the Electoral Commission to re-open the candidate nomination process for the 2021 municipal elections, in terms of the Constitutional Court order issued on 3 September 2021, unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid.”
This comes after the ConCourt had earlier given a ruling which refused the IEC’s application to postpone the elections to next February.
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After that judgment, the electoral body said parties can register candidates after the initial deadline of August 23.
The IEC said the voter registration weekend was linked to the registration of candidates.
The ANC had missed the deadline to register hundreds of candidates in several wards across the country.
The re-opening of candidate registration caused the DA to go to the apex court to challenge the decision.
The Constitutional Court said a few days ago there will be no oral arguments in the case by the DA against the IEC.
The ANC had backed the IEC in its application to oppose the DA.
The DA had argued that the ANC was wrongly allowed to enter the election race through the back door.
But the ruling party said the law allowed it to register candidates in wards and municipalities where it could not field any candidate because of glitches.
The judgment comes a day before parties are to submit the list of candidates to the IEC for the November 1 polls.
Political Bureau