The African National Congress (ANC) has won its Constitutional Court battle to have 181 candidates included on the ballot for South Africa’s local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026.
In a majority judgment delivered on Thursday, 15 October, the Constitutional Court ordered the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to take the necessary steps to include the ANC’s candidate lists and nominations on the ballot.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Rammaka Mathopo, who granted the ANC leave to appeal the Electoral Court’s ruling last month and set aside its order.
The legal dispute centred on the ANC’s failure to complete the final submission process for its candidate nominations in six municipalities.
The party argued that technical problems with the IEC’s online nomination system had prevented its candidate lists from being properly captured and processed, despite it having uploaded candidate information and paid the required deposits.
The IEC, however, had excluded the candidates after the party failed to complete the final submission step before the deadline.
The ANC subsequently challenged the decision in the Electoral Court, but its appeal was dismissed last month, prompting the party to approach the Constitutional Court.
The dispute affected six municipalities across the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
The ruling marks a significant development in the run-up to the November elections, allowing the ANC to have its 181 candidates included on the ballot following the court’s order.
The judgment also brings a major development in the dispute over the IEC’s electronic candidate nomination process and the requirements political parties must meet when submitting candidates for elections.
With the Constitutional Court having set aside the Electoral Court’s order, the IEC must now take the necessary steps to implement the judgment ahead of the 4 November local government elections.