KZN ANC pins hopes on bid to reopen IEC candidate list for elections

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has put its hopes behind the party’s bid to reopen the Electoral Commission (IEC) candidate list for the local government elections in October.

Failure to succeed will put the party on the back foot going into the elections and deeply undermine its electoral performance. 

Provincial ANC secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli on Tuesday expressed “a serious concern” that in a number of municipalities, particularly in the Mzala Nxumalo, Inkosi Bhambatha and General Gizenga Maqina Mpanza regions, the ANC could not register some wards and candidates.

The Sunday Times reported the party failed to register candidates in municipalities that fall under the Zululand district.

Ntuli confirmed the ANC did not secure the registration of all candidates in Edumbe, Phongolo, Abaqulusi, Ulundi and Nongoma local municipalities. 

The party also revealed 33 wards across the province did not have ANC councillor candidates. 

“The ANC is also without ward candidates in uPhongolo wards 4, 10 and 11, Abaqulusi wards 1, 5 and 7, Nongoma wards 8, 9, 12 and 17, and Ulundi wards 7 and 12. 

“In the General Gizenga Maqina Mpanza region we do not have ward candidates registered in KwaDukuza wards 2, 6, 10, 20, 22 and 24 and in Ndwedwe wards 11, 12, 13 and 15,” said Ntuli.

This included Mandeni ward 15 and Maphumulo ward 2.

In Inkosi Bhambatha the ANC couldn’t get candidates registered for Umzinyathi district municipality, Umvoti wards 9 and 10, Umsinga wards 1 and 18, eNquthu wards 4, 5, 14 and 17. In Musa Dladla region ward 3 Nkandla municipality was affected.

Ntuli said the provincial executive committee believes the organisation has learnt lessons with regards to the “IEC electronic candidate registration with its glitches and attendant mistakes, and calls on all ANC members to rally behind the national executive committee in fixing the challenges emanating from the registration.

“The ANC provincial executive committee is fully behind the work done by the secretary-general’s office to petition the Electoral Court for the IEC to reopen candidate registration,” said Ntuli. 

ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte told journalists last week the party would approach the court after failing to register candidates to contest in more than 35 municipalities across the country.

The party blamed technical glitches for the disruptions. If the elections go ahead, the ANC risks not participating in all municipalities across the country, which will be a first since the dawn of democracy.

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