‘Nothing to celebrate, Mbaks’: ANC has nothing to crow about over court ruling

The ANC should stop celebrating last week’s Constitutional Court (ConCourt) judgment that allowed it to resubmit candidate lists for six municipalities that missed the deadline.

Rather, say analysts, the real winners are voters who were on the brink of disenfranchisement.

‘The people have been protected by the court’

Independent political analyst Sandile Swana said the court was persuaded by the need to protect voter rights against ANC incompetence.

“Let’s not say the ANC has won, but the people have been protected by the court, regardless of the incompetence of the ANC and other parties in a similar position,” he said.

Swana added both the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) and the Electoral Court were right to reject the ANC’s initial reasons for failing to submit its lists, and that they made the right call.

Prof Ntsikelelo Breakfast, director of the Centre for Peace Security and Conflict Resolution at Nelson Mandela University, said the ANC was at fault for submitting its lists at the last minute. He said the ruling highlights the need to align online submission systems with regulations, noting if the ANC failed to press the “send” button, the process was incomplete and it therefore should have not allowed to resubmit.

Swana said the courts have consistently protected voter rights from political maladministration. He added the ruling gave voters who would have missed out on exercising their right to vote a chance to do so, making the election more competitive.

‘Not an ANC victory’

He warned against portraying the judgment as an ANC victory.

“Those voters are the ones who won, let alone the ANC, which has benefited from this victory, though it was the culprit who caused the problem,” Swana said.

He added that deadlines are fundamental in any administrative process. “There is no provision for an open-ended submission process in South Africa.”

Despite being given a reprieve to resubmit 181 candidates, Swana predicted the ANC would still lose votes in the November local government elections in those municipalities due to factionalism, particularly in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and to some extent, in the Free State.

“The principal source of the delay was not only incompetence but the intensity of factional battles.

“Ultimately, factionalism resulted in the non-submission, or non-pressing of the final submission button,” added Swana.

He said the ANC may lose political power in affected provinces, with fewer seats and diminished influence.

“Mbalula and his administration are actually saved by the Constitutional Court from a total knockout,” he said.

Breakfast said the ruling would have financial implications for the IEC, which had already printed 66% of ballots that must now be destroyed and reprinted.

He said if the ANC had lost, it would have been disastrous for secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who was under enormous pressure before the judgment.

Swana agreed with Judge Dennis Davis’ caution that the ConCourt should be careful when interfering with specialised courts like the Electoral Court.

“The IEC and Electoral Court made the right decisions. However, the ConCourt is sensitive to voters’ human rights, who did not contribute to the delays,” he said.

No broad precedent set

He warned the ruling should not be misunderstood as setting a broad precedent.

“This decision must not be misunderstood as allowing students to submit assignments late, enabling tenderpreneurs to submit bids late, or permitting anyone to miss deadlines,” Swana said.

The dispute arose when the ANC failed to complete submission of its candidate lists by the 28 August deadline, leaving 181 candidates unable to participate in the November local polls.

The Electoral Court initially ruled against the ANC, but the ConCourt reversed that decision, allowing the party to resubmit. The ruling affects six municipalities in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State.