ANC Loses 181 Council Seats in Electoral Court Defeat Over Candidate List Dispute

A disputed 3 percent of candidate submissions has cost the African National Congress approximately 181 councillor slots, after South Africa’s Electoral Court dismissed the party’s challenge against the Electoral Commission’s handling of municipal candidate lists.

The court heard arguments virtually on Tuesday afternoon. At the centre of the dispute is whether technical failures prevented the IEC from properly recording candidate information that the ANC claims was submitted before the deadline. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula stated at a media briefing that the party delivered all its councillor candidate lists to the Electoral Commission of South Africa, yet the IEC captured only 97 percent of the submissions. The missing 3 percent, he said, was submitted within the prescribed window but failed to register due to technical problems.

The Electoral Commission has rejected that account entirely. The IEC maintains no technical glitches occurred on its systems and has signaled it will not grant late-submission exceptions to any political party, including the ANC. Once the deadline passes, candidate lists are closed. The commission’s firm stance carries weight beyond this single case: 48 political parties overall have been affected by the submission process.

The practical consequence for the ANC is the inability to field candidates in municipalities spanning the Eastern Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal. For a party accustomed to dominance in local government elections, losing 181 candidate slots represents a material reduction in electoral reach.

By contrast, the ANC’s response, released in a statement on Wednesday, was careful to frame the dispute not as a request for special treatment but as a question of legal status. The party argued that candidate information it submitted and claims was captured in the IEC’s electronic system before the deadline should be recognised as valid. It plans to appeal, with legal representatives set to engage the court on what it describes as unresolved legal questions arising from the judgment.

The statement also carried a pointed internal message, urging members, leaders and supporters to remain disciplined and to refrain from public commentary that could interfere with ongoing legal proceedings. The instruction signals real concern about potential backlash within party ranks over the lost slots.

The ANC simultaneously reiterated its commitment to the 2026 Local Government Elections, emphasising that its focus remains on presenting its policy platform, engaging communities, and building support through its record. The framing is deliberate: shift attention away from the administrative setback and toward the broader campaign.

The case lays bare ongoing tension between the ANC and the IEC over operational procedures and deadlines. Candidate lists determine directly which individuals can compete for municipal office, making the stakes in local government elections acutely concrete. The Electoral Court’s dismissal closes one legal avenue for the ANC to recover the missing slots, but the party’s stated intention to appeal keeps the matter alive in the judicial system.

Further details on the court’s reasoning and the specific grounds for dismissal are available at https://mg.co.za/politics/2026-09-16-electoral-court-dismisses-anc-case-over-councillor-candidate-submissions/. Whether the appeal succeeds or fails, the dispute will remain in public view as the 2026 local elections draw closer, and the question of how electoral regulators handle technical disputes under deadline pressure is unlikely to disappear with it.