The IEC showed it is no rubber stamp for the ANC as it disqualified more than 180 late candidates.
ANC flag outside Luthuli House on 15 July 2022. Picture: Michel Bega
Yesterday was one of the first proper FAFO (Fool Around and Find Out) moments in South Africa’s post-1994 history, as the Electoral Court endorsed the clear message sent to the ANC by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC): A deadline is a deadline. Miss it and miss out.
The IEC was doing what it is supposed to, according to its mandate and what the law requires. The rules for elections state clearly that if nominations for candidates have not been submitted by a certain time, then they are null and void.
As with much else that it touches, this election candidate submission process turned into brown, smelly stuff for the ANC which, clearly, faced some of its usual “challenges”.
After disqualification of more than 180 of its nominee candidates, the party did what it is really good at… it made up more “firepool” excuses, confident the IEC would back down.
But the poll watchdog did not back down. And that is significant for a number of reasons.
Firstly, despite its composition being approved by the ANC, the IEC showed that it is no mere rubber stamp for the former ruling party.
This was a criticism many had voiced of it in the past – in the face, it must be noted, of absolutely no evidence to back that up.
Once again, our democratic system has proven stronger than the incompetents who rule us. Like the courts, the IEC has shown that it is an invaluable safety net for democracy.
That fact remains, whether or not the ANC manages to get another higher court to overturn the ruling of the Electoral Court endorsing the IEC decisions, the party has finally realised that actions have consequences.
It wasn’t able to control the IEC the way it has the police and National Prosecuting Authority when it comes to consequences for corruption, for example.
