IEC To Approach Constitutional Court To Ask For Local Government Elections To Be Postponed to 2022

ELECTORAL Commission chairperson Glen Mashinini says the Commission has lodged an application at the Constitutional Court for a deferral of the scheduled Local Government Elections.

“This court application is an extraordinary one and presumably unprecedented,” Mashinini said at a media briefing on Wednesday.

Addressing media in Tshwane, Mashinini said the issues at the core of the application have a bearing on the political rights of citizens, as well as the right to life, bodily and psychological integrity, and access to health.

“The application will undoubtedly offer the Constitutional Court another opportunity to contribute to the evolving jurisprudence of our constitutional order. The application is also launched on an urgent basis because there is need for certainty on the preparations for the municipal elections,” Mashinini said.

Mashinini said the Commission and electoral stakeholders are currently in an untenable position, where preparations are proceeding for 27 October 2021 — the scheduled Local