ConCourt dismisses Labour Party, ACT and AASD’s applications to postpone elections

The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has dismissed the African Congress for Transformation (ACT), Labour Party of South Africa and Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats’ (AASD) applications to postpone the election date.

The ruling comes after the three parties approached the apex court in an attempt to get another chance at registering their party candidates.

(1/3) Order issued on 10 May 2024 at 09h30: The application for direct access is dismissed (CCT 113/24 Labour Party of South Africa v Electoral Commission of South Africa and Others)

— Constitutional Court (@ConCourtSA) May 10, 2024

The parties had asked for a postponement of the election date to enable them to submit their candidate lists.

ALSO READ: Magashule’s ACT wants IEC to give it ‘an hour or two’ to submit candidates list rather than postponing elections

The parties claimed the IEC’s online portal for submission of political parties’ candidate lists malfunctioned and prohibited compliance with section 27 of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998.

On 15 April, the Electoral Court dismissed the parties’ applications to extend the deadline to submit the candidate lists.

The (IEC) had set the deadline of 5pm on 8 March.

On Wednesday, the ConCourt heard the leave to appeal applications of the three parties.

‘An hour or two’

ACT’s legal representative Advocate Gregory Amm told the ConCourt that at least 120 000 of the party’s supporters would be denied the constitutional right to vote for the party of their own choice as a result of the exclusion.

The exclusion would also deny ACT’s candidates their right to stand for public office.

“The frustration of either of those rights, which we submit is presently the status quo, has the effect of rendering the elections unfair,” he argued.

ALSO READ: Ace Magashule’s ACT will be on ballot, may work with EFF and Zuma’s MK party

The advocate said the IEC had the powers in terms of Section 20 of the Electoral Act to amend the election timetable and extend the deadline for the submission of their lists.

However, he revealed that ACT only wanted “an hour or two” for the IEC to reopen its online portal to submit outstanding documents to the IEC and only resort to postponing the elections as the last measure.

ACT appears on the IEC’s national and regional candidate lists, but it missed the deadline for inclusion in other regions.

Postponing elections ‘costly’

Advocate Chris Loxton, representing the Labour Party, argued that the IEC’s contention that its online candidate nomination system functioned without any mishaps because other parties were able to upload the required information did not hold water.

ALSO READ: Here’s why Electoral Court overturned IEC’s decision to bar Zuma’s candidacy

“We submit that the central submission by the commission namely that the system was working really well and that those who acted reasonably and with due diligence could comply with the requirements has a fatal flaw to it,” he said on Wednesday.

Loxton told the ConCourt that 35.3% of unrepresented parties were unable to access the IEC’s online portal.

“A 35% failure rate is not a small minority and 65% is not a vast majority. It indicates that despite the glowing reports from the service provider who said their system was working well and the argument that if some could do it then all could do it, there were significant difficulties,” said Loxton.

ALSO READ: ‘35% failure rate is not small’: Labour Party disputes IEC claims that system worked perfectly

The IEC argued that postponing the elections at the parties’ request would cost the country almost R600 million.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa