Johannesburg – The UDM says it will join the ANC as friends of the court when the ruling party goes to the electoral court to call for the reopening of registration for its local government candidates.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa says the IEC’s timetable was unrealistic to start off with.
“We objected; we were ignored. Capturing candidates was a disastrous process for the UDM. We pleaded for time; we were refused. We will join,” said Holomisa.
Cope, on the other hand, says the electoral court must reject the ANC's application for the reopening of the registration of candidates for the local government elections.
The ANC said it wants to register to contest in all municipal councils in the country after the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) turned down some of their candidates for filing their applications late.
Cope says the electoral court must reject the ANC's application for the reopening of the registration of candidates for the local government elections.
Cope says it is completely opposed to this application.
ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said the ruling party will, today, file an urgent application in the electoral court, asking it to force the IEC to accept those candidates who were excluded, after the party “experienced glitches” with the electoral body’s online system.
But Cope is against the ANC’s application in court.
“The ANC must just accept that they have failed to meet the deadline to register some of their candidates,” said Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem.
He said this is not the first time that a political party did not meet the deadline.
“We must remind the ANC and the country that in the 2016 local government elections the National Freedom Party missed the deadline to pay the registration fee and they were kicked out. They were not given a second chance,” Bloem said.
Bloem said it will make a mockery of the IEC regulations governing elections. It will also be totally unfair to entertain this application of the ANC.
“We as Cope worked under serious pressure around the clock to register our candidates and meet the deadline because we knew that there is no second chance. The ANC must be reminded that the IEC on Monday changed the deadline, and extended the deadline by 4 hours.
“The country must never allow a situation where one political party can think that they can bend laws as they wish to suit them,” he said.
Bloem said: “Nobody is above the law”.
“We are calling upon all political parties and independent candidates who have registered to contest the elections to raise their voices and reject the ANC electoral court's application.”
The IEC revealed on Tuesday that only two political parties have registered to contest for 10 285 municipal council seats in 257 municipalities, but declined to reveal their names.
The DA and EFF have confirmed that they are contesting all municipal council seats.
Political Bureau