The Electoral Court has dismissed five cases brought by political parties appealing their exclusion from contesting the elections.
On April 19, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) issued a statement announcing that the Electoral Court had rejected the applications of five political parties seeking inclusion on the ballot.
The final five parties remaining on the Electoral Court's roll, seeking to challenge their exclusion from the impending elections, included Operation Dudula, Arise South Africa, Cape Independence Party, Defenders of the People, and Independent South Africa National Civic Organisation.
However, all of them were determined to have not met the essential criteria for candidate nomination. The IEC expressed its approval of the Electoral Court’s decision to dismiss the five cases against it.
“In a consolidated ruling on the five applications, the court issued an identical order, dismissing all of them. These applications to the court pertained to non-compliance with the requirements for candidate nomination.The court added it would provide reasons for its ruling at a later stage,” the IEC said, adding that it would now focus on the mammoth task of printing ballots.
“The electoral commission appreciates the hard work of the Electoral Court for bringing these matters to finality. These applications had immense implications for the production of the ballot papers for the forthcoming elections,“ stated the commission.
The ruling follows the Electoral Court’s decision in favour of uMkhonto weSizwe Party leader Jacob Zuma. Zuma had challenged the IEC’s decision to disqualify him from running for a parliamentary seat.
Additionally, the previous week, the IEC sought the Constitutional Court’s intervention to overturn the Electoral Court’s ruling on Zuma.
The Star