THE Constitutional Court dismissed the DA’s application to declare the Independent Electoral Commission’s decision to reopen candidate registrations unlawful and invalid.
The unanimous judgment was handed down on Monday morning by the apex court.
The IEC reopened the submission of councillor candidates to contest the 1 November municipal elections after the ConCourt dismissed its application on 3 September to postpone the polls to February 2021.
The DA argued the IEC’s decision to reopen the submission of candidates was unconstitutional and unfairly benefited the ANC, which failed to submit candidates in more than 90 municipalities.
In its unanimous judgment on Monday, the ConCourt stated the IEC’s move to reopen candidate registrations was not unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. The DA’s application for direct access was granted but the application was dismissed with no costs order.
The DA’s application was supported by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and the South African Institute of Race Relations.
The IEC, ANC, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Freedom Under Law all opposed the DA’s application.
The DA said on Monday that it accepts the decision of the Constitutional Court today, and its ruling that the IEC may re-set the candidate registration deadline for the 2021 election.
The party said it would to closely monitor the upcoming local government elections to ensure the IEC delivers on its mandate to deliver free and fair elections.
The party briefed the media on Monday, shortly after the Constitutional Court dismissed its application to set aside the decision by the IEC to reopen the candidate registration list.
The DA argued that it believed the IEC made the decision unconstitutionally to assist the ANC fix its mistake of failing to meet the deadline on 23 August.
“When the ConCourt ruled that the proclamation of elections was null and void and that was the gap the IEC used to say there will have to be a reproclamation of the elections and they would be able to reset the deadlines and timetables,” said federal chairperson, Helen Zille.
“The IEC said to the court it cannot change voter registration or candidate registration unless the election is postponed till 2022, but when the court said they cannot do that, suddenly the IEC can hold voter registration and incase those newly registered voters want to stand as candidates we better open the candidate registration as well, we find that sequence of events interesting and the court also found it interesting.”
In its judgment, the apex court said the DA and others could challenge the IEC’s decision after the elections if it’s found that the election was not free and fair in certain municipalities.
“We are going to put the IEC on notice that we are going to be watching them like hawks, we simply remain of the view that they made this decision to favour the ANC. We note that the Constitutional court did not draw a conclusion on whether the IEC had an anterior motive based on the basis before the court,” added party leader John Steenhuisen.
- Inside Metros