Political parties have cautioned the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) from succumbing to pressure to do the African National Congress (ANC) “favours”, following the party’s embarrassing submission of an incomplete list of councillor candidates for the forthcoming November 4 local government elections.
The ANC, notorious for late submissions incidents, has failed to file its complete list, especially in the politically troubled Eastern Cape. They now need the IEC to make an exception in the acceptance of their submitted lists, if they hope to have candidates standing in all these wards.
To this end, the party has blamed a “technical glitch” as the cause for the submission of the incomplete list.
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But other political parties who also had the same August 28 deadline as the ANC have dismissed these claims as bogus.
Consequently, the parties are now watching keenly to see what the IEC’s move in relation to ANC shambles will be.
“We are watching the IEC with a hawk eye,” said uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo.
“They should not even think of making favour for the ANC which has missed the deadlines, we will show them flames. The MKP has fully complied.”
The MKP is no stranger to taking the IEC head-on in instances of suspected foul play.
As things stand, their case alleging vote-rigging in the 2024 national and provincial elections is still before the courts.
Afrika Mayibuye Movement has concurred with MKP that the former liberation movement’s glitch claims are unfounded.
“There was no ‘technical glitch’ of the IEC system. Anyone who suggests that is lying. The system worked perfectly until the end,” said the party’s secretary-general, Lazola Ndamase.
The IEC will on Wednesday afternoon hold a press briefing to address issues pertaining to the submission of the councillor candidates list, where it is expected to respond to the ANC claim.
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Major parties such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also confirmed to have submitted their full lists without encountering any difficulties.
A fresh debate in the ANC circles is that it should back South African Communist Party (SACP) candidates in wards where it was unable to submit names of its own candidates.
- The ANC submitted an incomplete list of councillor candidates for the November 4 local government elections, blaming a "technical glitch" for the error.
- Other political parties, including the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) and Afrika Mayibuye Movement, disputed the ANC's claim of a technical glitch.
- The MKP and Afrika Mayibuye Movement urged the IEC not to give exceptions or favors to the ANC for missing submission deadlines.
- The IEC plans to hold a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon to address issues surrounding the submission of councillor candidate lists.
- Major parties such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) confirmed they submitted their full candidate lists without problems.
