The DA accepts the decision of the Constitutional Court today, and its ruling that the IEC may re-set the candidate registration deadline for the 2021 election. 
 

The DA had challenged the IEC’s attempt to re-open the candidate registration, arguing that this move was a blatant attempt to bend the rules in favour of the ANC. Drawing on the Constitutional Court’s initial order of 3 September, in which it stipulated that election 2021 had to be held by the constitutionally determined date, the DA argued that while a voter registration weekend was essential to a free and fair election, re-opening the candidate registration would render the IEC open to allegations of bias to favour the ANC.

The DA argued that this conclusion would be ineluctable, given the IEC’s previous disqualifications of other parties for missing deadlines in the 2011 and 2016 elections – decisions that were upheld by the Electoral Court at the time.

The Constitutional Court did not draw a final conclusion on whether the IEC had an ulterior motive in re-opening the candidate nomination process, saying it could not draw this conclusion merely on the basis of the papers before the court.

“Given the urgency of the present proceedings and the fact that we did not hear oral argument, we do not finally decide the question whether the Commission’s decision is impeachable on the ground of ulterior motive. If after the event, the DA or any other political parties consider that the elections in particular municipalities were not free and fair because of alleged bias by the Commission in extending the candidate cut-off date, this judgment will not preclude such challenges,” the judgment reads at paragraph 43.

Given the fact that the IEC has previously disqualified parties that did not meet deadlines, and given their explicit statement before the Constitutional Court that it would not be possible to re-open voter or candidate registration if the elections were not postponed to 2022, the DA notes the 180 degree turn made subsequently by the IEC and the consequences of its decisions, which will undoubtedly favour the ANC, despite is manifest failures in sticking by the rules laid down for all parties.

Nevertheless, the DA says it accepts that, as the previous proclamation by Minister Dlamini-Zuma of August 3, was declared null and void, the election must be re-proclaimed, creating a gap for the IEC to re-issue a timetable.

The DA also said it will continue to monitor the freeness and fairness of the election accordingly and will not hesitate to use the opportunity opened by the Constitutional Court to challenge the IEC if any further examples of bending the rules to favour the ANC emerge during this election.