ConCourt reserves judgment on whether elections can be delayed

On Friday evening, the Constitutional Court reserved judgment on the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC’s) application seeking the postponement of the local government elections to February next year.

The apex court heard arguments from, among others, the ANC, DA and EFF.

Acting chief justice Raymond Zondo said it had been a long day and the court would not take unduly long to return with a judgment on the matter.

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Moseneke report

The commission had filed its urgent application with the ConCourt after former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke’s inquiry into the feasibility of holding elections this year found that scheduled elections would likely not be free and fair due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his report, Moseneke found that between now and the scheduled elections of 27 October, there would not be enough time for either the IEC or political parties to prepare for elections and campaign fairly and freely in the midst of a lockdown.

The report suggested that elections be postponed to no later than February 2022, despite the Constitution requiring an election to be held within 90 days of the expiry of the term of municipal councils.

Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma last month gazetted the local government elections for October, in keeping with the Constitution, for now.

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