The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) notes the Constitutional Court’s judgment handed down today in favour of the African National Congress (ANC), overturning the Electoral Court’s decision and directing the IEC to include 181 ANC candidates on the ballot for the upcoming Local Government Elections. The Court found that the ANC’s failure to click the final online submission button should not deny voters the opportunity to choose those candidates, given that the required information had already been uploaded and the necessary deposits paid.
We appreciate that many may disagree with the outcome, and be concerned with the precedent that it creates, particularly regarding the enforcement of electoral rules and deadlines in the future. The judgment does, however, underscore the importance of ensuring that electoral processes serve the constitutional right of citizens to participate in democratic elections and to vote for the candidates and parties of their choice.
This is not unlike the situation the ACDP faced in the 2006 Local Government Elections, when the IEC ruled that the party had not paid the required election deposit to contest in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area. The party argued that it had paid the deposit, but the Electoral Court found the opposite and excluded it from contesting in that area. However, on appeal, the Constitutional Court ruled in the ACDP’s favour referring to the values contained in section 19 of the Constitution which require “a court of law and the Electoral Commission, when interpreting provisions in electoral statutes to seek to promote enfranchisement rather than disenfranchisement and participation rather than exclusion.”
It is likely that the same constitutional principle was applied in the present case (the reasons are to be provided at a later date). Significantly, this judgment not only allowed the ACDP to participate in the elections but also allowed the party to play an important role as part of a coalition government that then unseated the ANC in the Cape Town Metropolitan Council.
Our experience demonstrated that electoral disputes often have consequences far beyond the parties directly involved – here the broader Cape Town area – never again to be governed by the ANC. At stake is also not merely the fate of candidates or political parties, but the right of voters to have the broadest possible democratic choice at the ballot box – particularly given the prospect of coalition governments in many municipal councils.
While political parties will continue to contest elections vigorously, it remains essential that South Africa’s electoral system promotes inclusivity, fairness and the will of the electorate. The IEC will probably apply this latest judgement to reconsider other political party candidates excluded for similar reasons.
Lastly, we do not expect this judgment to have a material outcome on the elections given the ANC’s rapid decline in voter support across the country and encourage voters to come out in large numbers to support the ACDP on 4 November 2026.
