Voters in six municipalities will now see ANC candidates on their ballot papers after the Constitutional Court intervened in a nomination dispute that had threatened to remove 181 council hopefuls from the 4 November 2026 local government elections. For residents of the affected areas, the ruling settles a question that went to the heart of electoral participation: whether a technical step on an online system could determine who may stand for office, and by extension, whose voices appear on the ballot.
In an order handed down on Thursday, 15 October, the court granted the ANC’s appeal and set aside an Electoral Court decision that had excluded the party’s candidates in six municipalities. It directed the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to take all necessary steps to include the affected nominations on the ballot papers and in the wider election processes, leaving the commission to implement the order ahead of polling day.
The municipalities concerned are Sundays River Valley, Walter Sisulu, Ngquza Hill and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal, and Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State.
The dispute began when the IEC rejected the ANC’s nominations because the party had not completed the final submission process on the commission’s online nomination system before the deadline. The ANC challenged that outcome, arguing that its candidates’ details had already been uploaded to the system.
Speaking at Constitution Hill after the judgment, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula framed the case as one about citizens’ rights rather than party advantage. He said the party had used lawful channels to challenge the decision, and described the right to vote as a fundamental constitutional right that should not be determined by a technical requirement on an online system. “When this movement believed that a right had been taken from our people, we walked up this hill with papers in our hands,” Mbalula said.
He also defended the legal challenge as an effort to secure recognition of nominations the party maintained had been uploaded to the IEC system, insisting the ANC was not seeking special treatment. At the same time, he acknowledged internal challenges, including alleged interference with candidate lists, which he said were being investigated.
The ruling carries consequences beyond the ballot itself. Mbalula said the ANC would now need to review its continued participation with the Democratic Alliance (DA), which opposed the appeal, in the Government of National Unity (GNU). He questioned whether the two parties remained aligned on the principles set out in the GNU’s statement of intent. “If any one of us works against it, that Parliament is too big. We must look for other partners,” he said, adding that nothing bound the ANC to remain in the GNU with the DA indefinitely. He stressed that the proposed review was a question of principle, not an attempt to force the DA into agreement with the ANC on every issue.
Meanwhile, the court granted condonation for the late filing of the IEC’s answering affidavit and ordered that costs be observed, saying reasons for its order would follow at a later stage. Further detail on the judgment, and the reasoning behind it, is available in the Mail & Guardian’s report at https://mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-10-15-constitutional-court-rules-in-favour-of-anc-in-iec-candidate-nomination-dispute/
For now, the practical effect is clear: the affected ANC candidates will contest the elections, and the IEC must adjust its preparations accordingly. With just weeks before voters go to the polls on 4 November, the commission’s task is to translate the court’s order into ballot papers that reflect the full field of candidates the constitution allows.