The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has decided to allow 32 additional political parties the opportunity to contest the 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections after the Constitutional Court ruled that the ANC must be allowed to include 181 candidates who missed the deadline to submit their final candidate lists.
The ANC candidates include 51 ward candidates and 130 Proportional Representation (PR) candidates across six municipalities. The IEC says other parties in a similar position must also be treated fairly.
According to the IEC, 32 parties had nominated candidates and paid their election deposits but had not submitted their final lists. The IEC says they will be contacted to confirm whether they still want to participate and will be given an opportunity to complete the nomination process.
“The Commission recognises that thirty-two (32) other similar-situated parties intended to contest against the ANC. These 32 other parties intended to contest in 121 municipalities across the country. Their intended participation involved all three ballot types: metro, local, and district. As with the ANC, these parties had nominated compliant candidates and paid election deposits but had not submitted their final candidate lists.”
The Commission said excluding these parties while allowing the ANC to participate would be unfair.
“It would be irrational and offensive to the principle of parity of treatment to exclude parties similarly situated to the ANC,” the IEC said.
However, 13 other parties will not be allowed to participate because they failed to meet certain requirements, including paying election deposits or meeting voter registration rules.
“Thirteen other parties were found to have not met the requirements for lawful submission of candidates even after extending the effect of the Constitutional Court order. The missed requirements in relation to these thirteen parties include the payment of the election deposits and the voters’ roll registration exception to be registered in the municipality of contestation.”
Despite the added pressure on election preparations, the IEC says it does not currently expect the changes to affect the election date.
