CENTURION, Gauteng — The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has firmly upheld the IEC candidate nomination deadline, leaving the ANC and 44 other political parties facing a significant setback after failing to fully submit their candidate lists. With just over two months remaining until the November polls, the electoral body confirmed it will not reopen the online system, effectively disqualifying nearly 2,300 candidates who were captured but not finalized before the cutoff.
The ANC had previously raised concerns, attributing the incomplete submissions to technical difficulties within the nomination platform. However, the party is not alone in this predicament, as it is one of 45 political parties currently in the same situation.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo addressed the issue directly, noting that the ANC had requested confirmation that their candidates were indeed not submitted in certain municipalities. The commission verified this to be the case. Mamabolo emphasized the commission’s strict and impartial stance, stating that the IEC has never entertained any possibility of opening the system for any single political party and has no intention of making an exception at this stage.
Despite these administrative hurdles, the electoral commission reported a robust 43% increase in candidate nominations compared to the 2021 elections. IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya announced that a total of 142,072 candidates have been nominated to contest 10,526 councilor seats across various municipalities.
According to Moepya, the immediate task for the electoral commission is to rigorously review all submissions for compliance with legislative requirements. This critical administrative phase includes verifying whether candidates have properly completed their acceptance nomination forms.
Demographic analysis of the submissions reveals that men account for nearly two-thirds of all nominations, while women’s representation stands at 38% overall. The majority of candidates fall between the ages of 36 and 55. Moepya highlighted that the 41 to 45-year-old demographic represents the highest cohort within this group, making up 16% of all nominations.
The IEC will now proceed with its comprehensive compliance checks. The final, official list of qualified candidates is scheduled to be published on the 16th of September.
