BLF heads to court over IEC's 'unjust decision' to de-register it as political party

Black First Land First (BLF) filed its appeal with the Electoral Court on Wednesday to become a political party again after the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) de-registered the party earlier this week.

LISTEN | BLF vs FF+ a battle of political will

BLF deputy president Zanele Lwana said in a statement on Wednesday that the IEC had made an “unjust decision”.

“This is a banning order against BLF.”

The IEC announced in a statement on Monday it was de-registering the BLF as a political party, after the FF+ appealed against the BLF’s registration because it excluded membership based on race.

The IEC defended its decision to approve the BLF’s registration in 2016, as it said the BLF’s constitution did not expressly exclude white people from membership.

But the IEC de-registered the party after its leader Andile Mngxitama admitted to the Electoral Court that it's constitution excluded white people from joining based on their race.

Lwana believes the BLF has “strong prospects of success” on appeal.

“We believe the IEC was bullied by the racist FF+ into banning our movement. The FF+ is terrified of BLF because it knows that we will ensure that land expropriation without compensation is a reality. BLF will take the fight right up to the Constitutional Court if needs be.”