The Constitutional Court has upheld the recent decision by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) to reopen candidate nominations for the upcoming elections – for now, at least.
While the country’s apex court yesterday dismissed the challenge by the Democratic Alliance to the controversial decision, it declined to make a final ruling on whether or not the commission’s motives were above board at this stage. The DA had argued the decision to reopen nominations was designed to give the ANC another bite at the cherry after it missed the original deadline of 23 August to register some of its candidates.
And significantly, the Constitutional Court justices didn’t rule out the potential “plausibility” of this line of attack. “If, after the event, the DA or other political parties consider that the elections in particular municipalities were not free and fair because of alleged bias by the commission in extending the candidate cut-off date, this judgment will not preclude such challenges,” they said.
The court effectively dismissed that application but ordered the voters’ roll be reopened. The IEC issued a statement indicating that in keeping with the ruling, it had scheduled a new voter registration weekend. The court yesterday made short shrift of both these advances, though, explaining its previous order neither “required nor precluded” the commission from taking a decision to reopen nominations and that, in terms of the Municipal Elections Act, it was within the commission’s rights to do so.
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