Tebogo Msimanga |
The Democratic Alliance ( DA) says it has briefed its lawyers to explore all available legal avenues to oppose the decision by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) to reopen its candidate registration process.
The IEC on Monday announced its revised election timetable and a registration weekend after the Constitutional Court dismissed its application to have the Local Government Elections postponed until next year. Instead, the Court granted a 5-day delay.
DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille this 5-day window has given the IEC an excuse to reopen the candidate registration process to allow the ANC to register the candidates where it failed to do so by the deadline of 23 August in 93 municipalities.
“While the Constitutional Court judgment underscored the importance of a voter registration period, which we welcome, we strongly object to the use of the window to re-open candidate registration.”
Zille said this has never been granted before when other parties requested leeway on an IEC deadline, “resulting in the NFP’s total exclusion from the 2016 local election, and the IFP’s partial exclusion from certain wards in the 2011 election.”
She said what they saw today gives the ANC an advantage that other parties have never enjoyed. “It is a transparent strategy to benefit the ANC.”
