ANC Leadership Convenes Amid Fallout Over Missed Councillor Candidate Submission Deadline
Party faces legal setback after Electoral Court dismisses appeal on exclusion of 181 candidates in six municipalities
Senior officials of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) gathered at the party’s Johannesburg headquarters on 21 September 2026 to deliberate the consequences of missing the official deadline for submitting councillor candidate lists for the upcoming local government elections.
The party failed to complete the final submission step for 181 councillor candidates across six municipalities before the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) 28 August 2026, 17:00 deadline. The affected municipalities include Port St Johns, Ngquza Hill, Walter Sisulu, and Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape; uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal; and Mangaung in the Free State.
Electoral Court Dismisses ANC Appeal
On 16 September, the Electoral Court dismissed the ANC’s challenge seeking to reinstate the excluded candidates. The court also granted the Democratic Alliance (DA) leave to intervene in the matter and made no order as to costs. The dispute centred on the ANC’s failure to complete the IEC’s online nomination system’s final “Submit as Final” step before the deadline, despite having uploaded candidate information and supporting documents.
The ANC argued that technical difficulties prevented its administrators from completing the final electronic submission. According to the party, its officials were logged out of the IEC system twice on the deadline day, with the last logout occurring at 16:57, before the 17:00 cutoff. The party maintained that the candidate information had been captured on the IEC system in time, asserting that the Municipal Electoral Act and related regulations did not explicitly require pressing the final submission button as a legal necessity.
However, the IEC rejected the ANC’s technical glitch explanation, stating that the nominations were not formally submitted before the deadline. The commission noted that the ANC could have submitted candidate lists manually to avoid the dispute over electronic submissions. The IEC also emphasised the importance of adhering to the submission process to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.
ANC to Pursue Further Legal Action
Following the court ruling, the ANC has indicated its intention to pursue further legal remedies, including appealing to a superior court. Party President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that the issue would be discussed in detail during the leadership meeting and at the upcoming National Working Committee session. Ramaphosa stressed the need to understand how the failure occurred and to ensure accountability where necessary.
“That matter is ongoing, the ANC today is going to be discussing the matter more fully to see what the way forward is, and of course whenever these things happen we need to find why and how it happened and where accountability is required accountability will be there,” Ramaphosa said during a fundraising event in Johannesburg.
Broader Election Context
Despite the setback, the IEC certified a total of 136,790 candidates to contest the 2026 local government elections across South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities, and 205 local municipalities. This figure marks a significant increase from the 95,427 candidates certified in the 2021 elections.
The nomination process closed on 28 August 2026 at 17:00, with submissions accepted both online and manually at IEC offices. Approximately 84% of nominations were submitted electronically, while 16% were submitted in person.
The IEC has confirmed that 5,096 candidates were disqualified for various reasons, including failure to meet statutory requirements. The final candidate lists were scheduled for publication shortly after the court ruling, enabling the commission to proceed with ballot paper printing and other election preparations.
Uncertainties and Ongoing Developments
It remains unclear what specific internal failures the ANC leadership will identify during their review, whether responsibility will be assigned to particular officials, or if disciplinary actions will follow. Additionally, the precise technical causes of the ANC’s submission failure have not been independently verified, with conflicting accounts between the party and the IEC.
The ANC has called on its members and supporters to remain calm and refrain from public commentary that could prejudice ongoing legal proceedings. The leadership meeting and internal accountability process are ongoing as of 21 September 2026, with outcomes yet to be determined.