What’s Happening with the ANC’s Candidate Lists?

The Issue Raised by President Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the African National Congress (ANC) is looking at taking its complaint to the Electoral Court. He explained that when the party tried to upload its candidate lists for the November 4 local‑government elections, some technical glitches appeared in the system that connects the ANC’s own database with the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) candidate‑capture platform.

According to Ramaphosa, the lists were ready and had been entered, but the interface between the two systems hiccuped, preventing a few entries from being finalized before the deadline.

IEC’s Response

The IEC rejected the ANC’s claim of a system failure. It said that when nominations closed at 5 p.m. on August 28, there were no reports of a non‑functional online system. The commission added that it will not reopen the nomination window to let parties or independent candidates submit late entries.

How Many Candidates Were Affected?

• The IEC processed more than 140 000 nominations for the upcoming elections.
• Out of those, 2 274 candidate names were captured in the online system but never finally submitted by the deadline.
• Those names belong to 45 political parties, including 480 potential proportional‑representation candidates and 1 794 potential ward candidates.
• Because the forms were not completed, the IEC says these candidates cannot appear on the ballot.

Why the ANC Is Looking at the Electoral Court

Ramaphosa described the glitches as “containable and manageable” but noted that the ANC was hit harder simply because it fields a large number of candidates. He added that the problem is not unique to the ANC—about 34 other parties reported similar issues.

The ANC is now exploring different ways to fix the dispute, including:

• Direct talks with the IEC
• Engaging the Political Party Liaison Committee
• Possibly approaching the Electoral Court, a specialist body that handles election‑related disagreements

The party hopes that a solution can be found quickly so that voters are not deprived of the chance to choose their preferred candidates.

Seeking a Solution Together

Ramaphosa expressed confidence that the IEC, the Political Party Liaison Committee, and the parties involved can work out a fix. He said, “I’m certain that a solution will be found… The Political Party Liaison Committee, as well as the IEC and the parties themselves, will be able to find a solution.”

The ANC’s candidate‑list problems have mainly affected municipalities in KwaZulu‑Natal, the Free State, and the Eastern Cape. The IEC plans to publish the final candidate list on September 16 after completing its compliance checks.

Conclusion

While the ANC believes technical hiccups prevented some of its nominations from being finalized, the IEC maintains that its system worked correctly and will not reopen the nomination period. With thousands of candidates already cleared for the November elections, both sides are under pressure to resolve the dispute quickly. Continued dialogue—and possibly a ruling from the Electoral Court—could ensure that all eligible candidates get a fair chance to appear on the ballot, letting South Africans vote for the representatives they want.