By Thys Khiba
Johannesburg – Several South African opposition partiesincluding Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Democratic Alliance (DA) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) are going to court to try preventing the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)’s decision to reopen the candidate registration process ahead of the local government elections.
The IEC defended them by saying that its decision to reopen candidate registrations was based on solid legal advice.
This follows the announcement by the IEC on Monday, follows a Constitutional Court judgment for the municipal elections to go ahead between the 27 October and 1 November.
This means that the IEC’s decision will give the African National Congress (ANC) a reprieve after it failed to register 93 municipalities in the initial window of submissions which closed on 23 August.
“The rules say the commission must amend the timetable and in that amendment it will include a period of candidate nomination, it is not a backdoor accommodation of a specific political party,” said Masego Sheburi, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer – IEC.
The opposition party leader John Steenhuisen has accused the commission of behaving recklessly.
“They’ve spent the better part of this year not on preparations, but on trying to delay the elections and that was what the governing party wanted. It’s also what one or two of the opposition parties wanted but certainly not what the law says.”
Amongst other opposition parties that are not satisfied by the IEC’s decision, the IFP said it wanted to explore other legal avenues to block the reopening of the candidate list.
The apex court also ordered that voters’ registration must take place; this has now been scheduled for 18 and 19 September.
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