South Africa gives 32 parties another chance to contest elections
The electoral commission extends the concession granted to the ANC to parties facing similar problems with their candidate lists.
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South Africa’s electoral commission, the IEC, is granting 32 other parties the same concession as the ANC over the submission of candidate lists. Friday’s decision follows a court ruling and puts preparations for the municipal elections on 4 November under additional time pressure.
The concession is now no longer limited to the party that went to court. IEC chair Mosotho Moepya announced on Friday that parties in comparable circumstances must be treated equally. According to the commission, the parties concerned had registered candidates who met the requirements and paid the required deposits, but had not submitted their final lists. The commission has reassessed their situation.
The decision follows the Constitutional Court’s order of Thursday 15 October. This requires 181 African National Congress candidates to be allowed to stand in the local elections after all. The candidates are in six municipalities. Until that ruling, the dispute concerned the submission of the ANC lists; Friday’s decision means the ruling also affects other participants in the elections.
Moepya justified the extension on the principle of equal treatment. The electoral commission considers it incompatible with free and fair elections to exclude parties in the same position as the ANC. In doing so, it distinguishes between the original court case and its own responsibility for the entire electoral process. SABC reported on Friday on that explanation at the press conference in Pretoria.
However, the concession does not apply to every party with an incomplete application. According to the government news agency SAnews, the IEC identified shortcomings at thirteen other parties that meant they still failed to meet the requirements even after the extension. These included issues with deposits and the required registration of candidates on the electoral roll in the municipality concerned. There will therefore be no general reopening for all rejected participants.
The practical implications are considerable. According to eNCA’s reporting, the extension affects 107 municipalities and 6.6 million ballot papers still need to be printed. The election date remains unchanged, according to the IEC. That is the organiser’s expectation: Moepya also acknowledges that logistical preparations are being severely affected and that the remaining work must be carried out within a greatly shortened period.
The commission will first contact the 32 parties to establish whether they still wish to participate. They can then complete the necessary steps for their candidate lists and add or replace names where needed. Nomination certificates will follow. According to the IEC, this accelerated procedure remains limited to the ANC and the 32 parties eligible for the same treatment.
The significance therefore extends beyond an administrative correction for one party. The decision determines which political choices voters will have at the forthcoming local elections. At the same time, the eligibility requirements must remain workable and consistent. Whether all the parties concerned actually participate, and what their final candidate lists look like, will become clear when the procedure is completed.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Following the ANC ruling, the IEC is extending the concession to 32 parties in comparable circumstances.
- Not all rejected parties qualify for the concession.
- The commission expects to be able to retain the scheduled election date.
Left
Arguments From a left-wing perspective, broad democratic participation carries considerable weight. An unfinished administrative step should not automatically lead to exclusion when candidates otherwise meet the requirements; the same protection must also extend to smaller parties.
Values Political equality, accessibility and representation.
Consequences Broad application could give voters more choice. An exception that helps only a powerful party would instead increase inequality between political participants.
Centre
Arguments An institutional approach emphasises implementing court rulings, treating comparable cases equally and setting clear limits on opportunities to remedy shortcomings. The commission must explain its criteria while maintaining a workable election timetable.
Values Legal certainty, independent administration and administrative reliability.
Consequences A clearly defined remedial procedure can reconcile participation with an orderly process. Unclear requirements or an unworkable timetable could damage trust.
Right
Arguments From a right-wing perspective, firm submission deadlines and individual responsibility deserve emphasis. Parties must keep their administration in order; opportunities to remedy shortcomings following a court ruling must remain limited and must not disadvantage diligent participants.
Values Responsibility, predictable rules and equal obligations.
Consequences Overly broad exceptions could undermine compliance with future deadlines and create additional administrative pressure. Consistent application to genuinely comparable cases prevents arbitrary decisions.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core facts have been confirmed in dated reporting on the IEC’s decision of 16 October 2026, within the news period. Future participation and the elections going ahead on the scheduled date are described as next steps and expectations.
- confirmed The IEC announced on 16 October that 32 other parties would receive the same concession as the ANC. — SABC gives the date, the number of parties and the explanation provided by chair Mosotho Moepya. source
- confirmed The parties concerned had registered eligible candidates and paid deposits, but had not submitted their final lists. — TimesLIVE describes these conditions as the basis for equal treatment. source
- confirmed The court order of 15 October concerns 181 ANC candidates in six municipalities. — TimesLIVE dates the ruling to Thursday; SAnews confirms its scale and scope. source
- confirmed Thirteen other parties still fail to meet the requirements after the extension. — SAnews mentions shortcomings involving deposits and registration on the electoral roll, among other things. source
- confirmed The extension affects 107 municipalities; 6.6 million ballot papers still need to be printed. — eNCA gives both figures in its report of 16 October. source
- confirmed The IEC expects the elections to go ahead on 4 November, despite additional logistical pressure. — This has been confirmed as the commission’s expectation, not as a guarantee of how events will unfold. source
- confirmed The commission is asking the parties whether they still wish to participate and will then complete the nomination process. — TimesLIVE describes contact with the parties, amendments to lists and the issuing of nomination certificates. source
Editor's note
The decision of 16 October has been confirmed by the government news agency and several news outlets. The original court order has not been consulted directly; its description is based on their consistent reporting. The final participation of all parties concerned and the timely completion of logistical preparations remain uncertain.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „zuid-afrika verkiezingen”
- RTL Nieuws — „zuid-afrika verkiezingen”
- NOS — „zuid-afrika verkiezingen”