Johannesburg - The ANC has vowed to deal with complaints that the nomination of councillors’ lists was rigged, after meeting the deadline set by the Electoral Commission (IEC) to register candidates for the upcoming local government elections on Monday.
The IEC has ordered political parties and independent candidates to submit their lists by 5pm today or miss out on participating in the elections on October 27.
The ANC issued a statement after protesters marched to their provincial headquarters and some marched to Luthuli House, the ANC’s national headquarters, over the weekend to complain about the manipulation of lists. In provinces such as the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Gauteng, aggrieved members wrote letters of complaint and cited various irregularities in the appointment of people to be councillors.
On Sunday, ANC members in Hammanskraal and neighbouring towns handed the office of ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte a litany of complaints about irregularities in the selection process.
The aggrieved members, led by Moretele Local Municipality Mayor Andries Monaheng and George Marindi, said all their 26 ward candidates, who were apparently selected during their community meeting, had not been included in the final list handed to the Electoral Committee under former president Kgalema Montlanthe over the weekend.
The ANC held a two-day meeting to consolidate the final list of candidates to be handed to the IEC per the required deadline.
In replying to complaints of nomination manipulation, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said channels for managing disputes were an integral part of the ANC’s candidate selection processes.
“Members or structures can, where necessary, formally raise grievances with the process. Various structures have dealt with appeals and disputes throughout the process, often under tight deadlines imposed by Covid-19 restrictions.
“A number of members have highlighted their disputes at ANC offices, nationally and provincially. The Electoral Committee dispute resolution structures will continue to consider any serious disputes within the prescribed time frames, even after the registration of ANC candidates on August 23, 2021. Where necessary, matters will be referred to the ANC disciplinary and other structures for action,” Mabe said.
Political Bureau