Constitutional Court Dismisses DA’s Urgent Application To Set Aside Reopening of Candidate Registration

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